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- South Koreans can now access their capital city without really going there.
- The next phase of the city will focus on senior citizens.
Stephen Spielberg’s Ready Player One (released in 2018) is probably what most people think of when they hear the word ‘metaverse.’ South Korea might have launched what can be called a trailer for that kind of a reality. It recently announced the digital twin of its capital city Seoul — ‘Metaverse Seoul.’
A place for communication
Metaverse Seoul is designed to function as a place for citizens to communicate. It is in its Beta phase. The initiative will allow people to access Seoul virtually. The next phase will focus more on senior citizens facing problems while commuting to their place of work.
Companion, connection and freedom are the core values of Metaverse Seoul. It will include the city’s tourist attractions, a corporate support center, counseling rooms for the youth and more. Previously, companies have announced projects to preserve ancient structures on blockchain and offer tours to specific locations via virtual reality.
Before South Korea, the United Arab Emirates had announced Metaverse projects. The nation aims to become one of the top ten digital economies. Authorities from these countries intend to use Metaverse for government schemes and initiatives. However, no plans are out in the public domain as of now.
The Metaverse strategy of Dubai includes leveraging aspects like real-time data, Internet of Things, machine learning and more. This includes the usage of data, cloud and edge computing, network and other tech advancements, and utilize them as the foundation for their metaverse vision.
Metaverse has been praised as well as criticized by industry experts. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms CEO, believes that virtual spaces are the future. Zuckerberg renamed Facebook as Meta to emphasize the company’s focus on Meta and how big he’s betting on the future of virtual spaces. Metaverse has lost the majority of its share price primarily due to “Zuck” throwing a lot of “Bucks” into metaverse research and development.
Recently, the American business magnate and co-founder of Microsoft, said during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a big thing, greater than metaverse or Web3. Citi Bank, a multinational investment bank, believes that the industry may become a $8 trillion to $15 trillion market by 2030.
If digital spaces are indeed the future, Metaverse is probably what they would look like. The concept is still in its infancy and might even become a reality in the future, but given cost and feasibility issues, it is certainly going mainstream anytime soon.
Anurag is working as a fundamental writer for The Coin Republic since 2021. He likes to exercise his curious muscles and research deep into a topic. Though he covers various aspects of the crypto industry, he is quite passionate about the Web3, NFTs, Gaming, and Metaverse, and envisions them as the future of the (digital) economy. A reader & writer at heart, he calls himself an “average guitar player” and a fun footballer.
