Starting in April, Everland in Yongin, south of Seoul, will stage a large-scale show every night, rolling decades of production experience into its new finale, “Guardians of Light.” The park describes it as an outdoor multimedia fireworks production that blends art and technology, with characters flying overhead, beams of light and bursts of fireworks.
The show is led by Yang Jung-woong, a Korean director who oversaw cultural performances for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and the opening ceremony of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Artists including K-Hertz, the Prague Metropolitan Orchestra and singer 10CM take part, with fireworks, large object drones billed as a first-of-its-kind attempt, K-pop and a story aimed at both children and adults in the Four Seasons Garden.
Rescue mission for a friend under a spell, as the Guardians battle with light
Everland’s nighttime finale has been revamped. At 9:20 p.m., the park says a dark spell called “Darknight” sets the stage for the story. The “Lenny and Friends” characters, long known for a cute image, return as the “Guardians of Light,” setting out on a roughly 20-minute adventure to protect Evergarden.The setting draws on science fiction and a steampunk look. The characters try to save a friend, “Jack,” who has been corrupted by magic, and fight a beam-and-laser battle on a planet of darkness and chaos. As the guardians overcome the crisis, hope returns and the story ends with fireworks.
Yang, described in the release as an “alchemist who breaks boundaries,” is combining thousands of fireworks with large object drones, 3D video, sound, laser mapping and special effects. Other top Korean creative directors are involved, including Lee Eom-ji (art), K-Hertz (music) and Yoon Jae-ho (laser art).
The music spans genres, including a theme recorded in the Czech Republic by the Prague Metropolitan Orchestra, along with K-pop, EDM and musical theater-style tracks. Vocals by 10CM’s Kwon Jung-yeol are also featured, the park said.
At a March 26 news briefing at Everland, Yang said the concept was “sparkly steampunk.” “We dressed the characters in steampunk-style costumes and gave them interesting props like laser guns,” he said. “Steampunk is usually mechanical and rough. But for this show, we tried a new genre that fits Everland.”
Yang, who used about 1,200 drones for a large-scale show at the 2018 Pyeongchang opening ceremony, said he will now present what Everland calls Korea’s first large object-drone flight. A summer-season character object, “Bambam Man,” will be mounted on five large drones for a formation performance.
“Drones are always my favorite,” Yang said, adding that he placed a 150-centimeter “Banban Man” object on a large drone. “Light comes from Banban Man’s eyes and collar,” he said, adding that five character drones will fly in a short but intense formation to K-Hertz’s electronic music, alongside laser art by Yoon Jae-ho.
A massive screen at the front of the stage, measuring 62 meters wide and 10 meters high, will run 3D visuals. Everland also said it collaborated with British installation artist Bruce Munro on garden lighting. With music from an 82-member Czech Metropolitan Orchestra, visitors watch fireworks at close range, the park said.
Everland said it expects the production to help strengthen its in-house intellectual property. Yang said the project was an attempt to build a foundation that could later expand into animation and to create a story world that helps “Lenny and Friends” become more widely known.
Jung Se-won, head of Everland’s Entertainment Group, said Everland is the only place in South Korea that has continued nightly fireworks since 1996. He said the new show carries on that production heritage while putting the lion-themed characters Lenny and Friends at the center.
High-energy indoor circus aims to appeal to children and parents alike
Everland’s indoor Grand Stage is also launching “Wings of Memory,” which the park calls the country’s only world-class circus production. The show was created through about 18 months of collaboration with Canadian circus company Cirque Éloize, which includes many directors who previously worked with Cirque du Soleil. Based in Quebec, Cirque Éloize has performed for more than 30 years, staging more than 7,000 shows in about 700 cities across 50 countries.The 40-minute show is performed twice daily in a dedicated indoor theater with about 1,000 seats. It combines stunts, acrobatics, dance, video, music and special effects. The story follows a girl, Iel, traveling through a forest with a swan into an unknown world, meeting spirits and a boy and building friendships. Everland said it added new stage devices for the production, including a flying swan puppet and a moving boat.
Cirque Éloize said it combines dance, visual elements and circus in every production. “They are disciplines you can see in other circuses, but we are different in that we put the story at the center and build the acts around it,” the company said.
Jung said that in South Korea, audiences typically experience “art circus” only when Cirque du Soleil tours the country. He said Everland planned “Wings of Memory” so people can see high-level circus in Yongin regardless of whether Cirque du Soleil visits.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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