South Korea pumps $51 million into metaverse projects

South Korea in investing KRW 27.7 billion, approximately $21 million, into domestic projects developing in the metaverse. According to an official announcement by South Korea’s Ministry of Science, the reserved fund will support 13 projects that maximize virtual worlds in various industries. Additionally, startups will get regulatory and technological actualize the vision.

The department also announced that an investment of KRW 40 billion, approximately $30 million, will be made to finance small-scale firms taking on projects in the virtual world. This investment will motivate small-scale firms to merge and acquire to improve the domestic environment.

The South Korean government has supported creators and firms in developing the metaverse since 2021. They also plan to extend their state-supported metaverses to other parts of the world. Since 2021, South Korea has been seeking to dominate the metaverse, opting for a widened public outlook for the development of the virtual world.

South Korea committed to developing the metaverse

Tech journalist, Nina Xiang, said South Korea remains amongst the most committed government in developing the metaverse.

“Other Asian countries don’t have similar types of metaverse programs in scale and scope as that of the South Korean government.”

Nina Xiang, Tech journalist

The country recently announced its project on Metaverse Seoul. It expects that the work will finalize by 2026. The announcement stated that the plan will extend Seoul’s public services into virtual worlds. It also introduced avatars into counseling and tax office.

The techie population and several tech companies’ introduction in South Korea validate its great metaverse visions. It is hoped that the country’s hardware sector will provide solutions that can help to actualize its metaverse projects’ visions.

Ethics of a brave new world

South Korea’s Ministry of Science revealed a metaverse approach that would help move the county into virtual worlds. This approach involves a plan and ethical principles that rest on 4 main scopes; inclusiveness, fairness, autonomy, and respect for privacy. 

The metaverse approach stems from the alliance of professionals from ethics, engineering, data protection, and law. 

Photo credits: xcresch (Pixabay)