In a bold move to cement itself as a leader in the digital space, South Korea’s Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning has pledged a whopping 223.7 billion Korean won (that’s around $186.7 million, for those keeping score) to create a comprehensive metaverse ecosystem dubbed the “Expanded Virtual World.” This initiative is poised to spruce up the country’s digital content landscape and boost corporate growth within its borders.
The Vision: An All-Encompassing Metaverse
The Ministry’s ambitious plan revolves around four main objectives: expanding industrial growth across cities, enhancing educational opportunities, and revolutionizing media interactions—all through the powerful lens of the virtual world. It appears they’ve gone full throttle into the metaverse, and they’re taking the entire nation along for the ride.
Calling All Creators: The Support System
Content creators, your moment has arrived! The ministry aims to roll out a support structure that will attract top-tier talent to build this virtual platform. Activities will include community-centered creative events, a metaverse developer contest, and an engaging hackathon. It seems the government is throwing quite the digital party.
Financial Support for the Brave
Hashed CEO Simon Kim believes that the new initiative focuses on encouraging commercial expansion by providing financial backing for participants. “The private sector is actively investing in the metaverse market,” he stated, also emphasizing that the real issue at hand is regulatory—like the prohibition on publishing NFT games or issuing tokens in Korea. Who knew digital adventures could come with so many rules?
A Part of the Greater Digital New Deal
Park Yungyu from the ministry shared that this metaverse project is part of South Korea’s larger “Digital New Deal.” This set of policies aims to stimulate the growth of digital technologies. Park noted, “It is important to create a world-class metaverse ecosystem as the starting point to intensively foster a new hyper-connected industry.” If that’s not a mouthful of digital ambition, I don’t know what is!
Global Ambitions: The Road Ahead
The ministry has its sights set on providing a global platform where seamless access to South Korean companies becomes a reality. They’re not just thinking local here; they’re clearly seeing a virtual universe full of possibilities. And with the right mix of financial and technological support, they believe outstanding businesses in the digital economy will thrive. It’s a shiny, hopeful view of the future—unless you’re an opportunist trying to game the system, in which case, good luck filtering yourself out!
The City Goes Digital
Meanwhile, the municipal government of Seoul has also been exploring the notion of a public metaverse space, with plans for a “Metaverse 120 Center” surfacing last year. Remember that name; it might just be the next digital hangout spot!
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