The South Korean government set the tone early in 2022 for the country’s interest in getting a lead in the so-called metaverse, announcing in January a $170 million fund to invest in the idea of virtual reality and its digital technologies.
The money is set to pave the way for the country to be among the top five in Metaverse developments by 2026, with South Korean President Yoon Sok-yeol saying the technology is a national priority. Foreign Affairs Minister Park Jin doubled down on this message Global Innovation Forum in Seoul on December 9, saying that the country is set to be a powerhouse of metaviruses.
Such statements cause a stir — American filmmaker James Cameron was famous for his use of special effects in films at the Seoul conference — but other industry insiders are skeptical of the vision and what the technology is supposed to achieve.
The metaverse refers to a network of 3D virtual worlds—usually accessed through virtual reality headsets and avatars—as part of a decentralized internet, or Web3, built around blockchains, the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies.
However, Phil Spencer, President of Microsoft Gaming and President of Xbox, recently called the metaverse a “poorly constructed video game”.
Dong-wook, chairman and CEO of AI and Miso Information Technology in South Korea, has another view.
“[The internet] It has helped humans overcome the boundaries of time and space – but it is not effective in situations that require personal contact or emotional interactions,” he said in ignorance interview. “That’s why the metaverse strives to produce an exact replica of a real environment.”
South Korea has the potential to lead the era of the metaverse, aided by the global popularity of the country’s cultural content, such as K-pop, Ahn said, adding that local residents are quickly adapting to new technology.
love metaverse
Taking the lead from the government, South Korean companies and local governments have accumulated metaverse projects.
The capital, Seoul Build its default replica In a project to provide citizens with digital civil services. City governments such as Busan, Seongnam, and Gumi have announced similar metaphysical initiatives.
The eastern province of Gyeongbuk has declared itself the “Metaverse Capital” of South Korea. declaring A five-year initiative to invest $13.8 million in what it calls the Domestic Reverse Economy. It estimates that this will add US$780 million in value to the region.
South Korean internet giant Naver founded Zepeto, a metaverse that it says has 20 million monthly active users or one of the largest in Asia. The rival Ifland metaverse run by telecom leader SK Telecom lures users with a collaboration with the K-pop brand.
Naver’s Metaverse unit has teamed up with Solana Blockchain to develop a new platform ziptox, which is expected to allow users to monetize their activities with cryptocurrency income. Ifland is Already allow Some users to cash out points and rewards within the platform.
Financial institutions and banks in Asia’s fourth largest economy have also set up shop in Metaverse.
Shinhan Financial Group, KB Kookmin Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, You have They either launched virtual affiliates on the metaverse or their own virtual platforms to attract tech-savvy people to their financial products.
Moreover, South Korean companies It said It trails only the United States in the number of metaverse-related patent applications for virtual reality and augmented reality since 2016, with 19% of the 7,760 applications filed. The United States and South Korea account for 75% of the total.
Games vs metaverse
The South Korean Ministry of Science defines a metaverse as a space in which virtual and physical reality converge so that people or objects can interact, creating economic, social, and cultural value.
The definition has angered some online game developers in South Korea, especially after authorities said they would not regulate metaverse platforms according to existing laws for game developers.
The backlash came as South Korea’s video game industry remains shackled by strict rules and a stinking reputation that local experts say is outdated and unfair.
Video games are generally seen as an enemy for school children and teens in South Korea, where the pressure to get higher grades and get into top universities is particularly intense. Just this year, South Korea repealed the so-called Lockdown Law, which had been in effect for 10 years and banned players under the age of 16 from online games between midnight and 6am.
One of South Korea’s latest restrictions on video games that has added to the controversy is Total ban on integrating blockchain elements into games, including play-for-profit (P2E).
Henry Chang, CEO of South Korean blockchain game developer Wemade Co. , in an interview: “I call it a cognitive disorder.” Zhang said the metaverse is like a game but cannot be classified as a game because it would be banned.
Kim Jong-tae, a professor of gamification at Dongyang University, compared the current policies of separating games and mirroring to “comedy”. Kim said that although the metaverse is very much a video game, when it’s framed as a “game,” an immediate negative connotation follows.
The metaverse has elements of a game, but it also has much greater potential as a social platform and for economic activities, said Park Hye-jin, a professor in the Venture Capital MBA program at Seoul College of Integrated Science and Technology.
“New products and services that use new technologies need support from industry self-regulation and regulatory sandboxes, not from existing laws or prior deliberations,” he said.
“Ifland is a metaverse social service and is not related to games,” SK Telecom’s Ifland metaverse, which recently added a detachable points system to the platform, told Forkast. You have compared Ifland to Youtube.
While the controversy over a game not being a game in South Korea continues, An of Miso Information Technology said the country should continue to invest in the metaverse, but disperse it across a wide range of platform developers.
He said this is the right time for the country to experiment and allow its mobile sector to grow.
Originally posted 2022-12-29 14:17:13.