The city government of Seoul said Wednesday it will create a cinema-themed park on the centrally located Chungmuro film street in effort to help support the development of the local film industry.

The cinema park will be completed by 2018 on the old film street that symbolizes South Korea's history of modern movie making as the location of the country's first movie theater, according to the city.

Now the street stands languid as most of the film studios have moved to more vibrant southern areas.

The park will primarily be composed of theaters for classic and independent films, video archives and film exhibition halls.

The park will also be equipped with studios that have film sets including a police station, court and hospital so filmmakers can better shoot with such backgrounds.

The park is expected to help inspire movie producers and provide easy access to classic and independent films for citizens, the city noted.

Along with the cinema park plan, the city will expand its financial support for fund-squeezed film makers, it added.

The city government said it also plans to create an investment fund worth about 50 billion won ($45.4 million) by 2017 in cooperation with the private sector. The fund will be funneled to the production of low-budget or independent films that often lack substantial investment. (Yonhap)