Happy World amusement park was founded in 1936 by George Lee Geok Eng. It featured a combination of eastern and western entertainment in the form of cabarets, operas, movies and a circus. During the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945, the Japanese converted the park into a gambling farm and encouraged Chinese businessmen to run it like a gambling den. After the war, the park reverted back to an amusement park and was renamed Gay World in 1966. However, by the late 1970s, it was no longer popular due to the emergence of cineplexes and shopping malls.
