Thursday, May 03, 2007

"Disneyland is Too Far"

Okay, this post has nothing to do with Korea, but the contents of this article my friend sent me are so unbelievable/hilarious for the massive and blatant act of piracy they present, I had to share them with you.

Presenting Shijingshan Amusement Park, a fun and exciting themepark in Beijing that's not Disnelyand...seriously...





4 comments:

Sean said...

I almost can't believe that such a park exists. If that's a cat with big ears then I'm a cat with small ears.

I guess you could say that China, being a Communist nation, is new at this IP thing, but ignorance is not a valid defense. Plus, I hardly think that China is ignorant on the issue. I know that IP has been a huge issue in recent WTO rounds without much headway. But seriously, China doesn't want to mess with Disney. I'm convinced that Disneyworld is the 7th most powerful nation in the world, right above France. Also, they have a HUGE IP litigation team.

redbean2 said...

Meh. I've been there. I hadn't ridden the teacups ride since I was little, so I didn't realize adults got sick after spinning for three minutes straight. Anyway, there was also this strange bicycle ride that I never saw at Disney (and I used to have season passes in L.A., so I'm pretty familiar)--you ride these bicycles on a track about ten feet in the air. Very lame. Anyway, all told, not really worth it.

BUT if you want to see some really crazy stuff, there's this other amusement park in Beijing that has miniature versions of great world landmarks, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Big Ben. You can walk all over them, because there isn't someone to tell you not to--though a friend of mine accidentally broke off part of the Taj Mahal.

Sean said...

Hey, they have the same miniature landmark thing in Korea too - on Jeju Island. It was part of the tour that came with our package. Imagine the great intrigue and excitement that overcame us when we got to see a small model of the White House! And yeah, we could walk right around them, but I have to say, not really all that fun. It was kind of like Lego Land, but not as fun. We were there for like 20 minutes.

redbean2 said...

Update:

Q: There are reports that Beijing's Shijingshan amusement park copied the
images of the US Disney's cartoon. What is your reaction to this?

A: I have noticed the relevant report. The Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of IPR's and it protects the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors as well as the IPR and IPR holders in accordance with the law. What we have invested -- the manpower, material, and efforts -- and what we have achieved in this area in recent years are both unprecedented. China's IPR protection work has
been approved by the WTO every year and has been extensively recognized by the overwhelming majority of countries, international organizations, and
enterprises in the world.

(From the PRC FM Spokesman News Conference on 10 May 07)

So basically--no, we're not checking into it.

And then the South China Morning Post said this:

A spokeswoman for the Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park said the image of Mickey Mouse had never appeared there, and the cartoon figure identified as Mickey on a Japanese television programme was a big-eared cat - a registered park mascot, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.