Hanoi beats its chest at plan to build Kong statue near Hoan Kiem Lake

By Vo Hai   March 14, 2017 | 06:02 am PT
Kong is unlikely to join the statues of national heroes around Hanoi's spiritual center.

Hanoi on Tuesday officially rejected a proposal to build a statue of King Kong near Hoan Kiem Lake, just one day after the idea was put forward by the culture ministry.

Truong Minh Tien, vice director of Hanoi's Culture Department, said at a press meeting on Tuesday that a model of Kong anywhere around Hoan Kiem Lake, which is a special national heritage site, would be inappropriate.

After consulting experts and the public, authorities in Hanoi said that any statues of Kong should be restricted to parks, cinemas or Ninh Binh Province, where parts of the movie were filmed.

The ministry had suggested that a statue of the giant ape would provide a great photo opportunity for visitors and help boost the country's tourism industry along with the film, the first major Hollywood action movie shot in Vietnam.

"Kong: Skull Island" has already smashed box office records in Vietnam, drawing more than 162,000 moviegoers on its March 10 premiere. 

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