DoTS Theme Park Cancels Annual Festival After The Song-Song Marriage Broke Down

By now, you’ll surely have heard of the impending divorce between Korean power couple Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo, a revelation that has shocked koreaboos, weeaboos, singaboos, peekaboos and chioboos alike.

And it’s entirely understandable, considering how their initial union was nothing short of a fairy tale. Having co-starred in the mega-hit drama Descendants of The Sun (DoTS) back in 2016, their reel life romance swiftly translated into real life as they showed everyone the fingers back in 2017.

No, not the middle fingers, but their wedding rings.

Alas, however, it seems that this particular fairy tale will not be one to go down in the history books. A real pity, considering everything that has happened.

And to make things worse, it seems that the despair stemming from the divorce didn’t just make fans everywhere cry their hearts out;

It has even affected commercialised estates, as well as visitors of these estates, too.

Descendants of The Sun theme park

Before I proceed with the main story, however, I’ll first have to give a rough introduction of the Descendants of The Sun theme park, and what it’s all about.

Following the Korean drama’s monstrous success, a DoTS theme park was subsequently constructed at TaeBaek City in South Korea, against a reported budget of 270 million won (S$316,000).

Apart from visiting the filming locations in the drama’s military uniform, you can also snap pictures with the commemorative statue of the couple’s kiss.

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– 입대했습니다….. #유시…

A post shared by SUJIN CHO(조수진) (@shenistagram) on Apr 15, 2017 at 5:14am PDT

Pretty slick stuff, huh? Though it doesn’t come without a hefty price in tow, as a day’s tour at the theme park would apparently set you back around USD165 (S$224) per person.

For that kiss? Worth it.

Also, the theme park consistently organises a couple festival, titled the Taebaek Couple Festival, every July.

How the times have changed

For this first time in the event’s history, the organisers have cancelled the Taebaek Couple Festival in the wake of the SongSong couple’s divorce.

According to Kpop site Koreaboo, the organisers have even contemplated whether they should cancel the festival permanently.

“We have not decided on whether we will cancel the festival for good. We will continue to discuss the matter.”

The event drew about 12,000 visitors (mostly from Taiwan and China), in 2017.

According to media reports, the divorce might drastically impact the visitorship to the theme park. Which makes one wonder;

Will people flock to the theme park now because of the immediate relevance and because they might miss it next time?

Or will people shun it like the plague because of the ill-fate that befell the land’s primary couple?

Well, only time will tell. Though one thing’s for sure.

You’ll never watch DoTS the same way again.