"Safety Education by Riding Bicycles as Avatars" Seoul Facilities Corporation to Open 'Ddarungi Education Center' in Metaverse in December

Learn Essential Traffic Laws and Safety Rules by Riding Various Bicycle Tracks as an Avatar

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Facilities Corporation announced on the 24th that it will open the ‘Ddarungi Safety Education Center’ and ‘Ddarungi Promotion Hall’ for elementary, middle, and high school students in December.

The ‘Ddarungi Safety Education Center’ is a space where users can ride a bicycle as an avatar. Users can ride bicycles on various tracks such as crosswalks, intersections, straight and curved courses. They can learn essential traffic laws for each section and accumulate knowledge about bicycle safety.

The bicycle track is designed similarly to the practical test course of the ‘Bicycle Safety Education Certification System’ currently implemented by Seoul City, allowing users to experience the test course in advance. Users can learn the riding course and safety rules as avatars to prepare for the practical exam.

The ‘Ddarungi Promotion Hall’ is a space that provides key information related to Ddarungi through card news. It delivers bicycle-related information such as traffic laws, maintenance methods, and proper riding practices in an easy-to-understand manner.

Additionally, the corporation is considering introducing the chatbot consultation service, which was previously only available through the Ddarungi app, into the metaverse.

As the number of Ddarungi rides by teenagers increased by about 8%, from 699,000 rides between January and July last year to 754,000 rides during the same period this year, the corporation aims to strengthen bicycle safety by providing safety education tailored to elementary, middle, and high school students through a metaverse platform.

Prior to this, the corporation has actively communicated with citizens by producing and releasing various YouTube videos related to Ddarungi usage. Recently, it has been engaging in active communication using the metaverse tailored to the perspectives of the MZ generation and teenagers.

Meanwhile, a new feature will also be introduced in the existing Ddarungi app. A real-time ranking system that converts the distance traveled by users on Ddarungi into carbon reduction amounts will be implemented, allowing users to check their carbon reduction ranking among all Ddarungi users.

Director Cho Sung-il said, “The ‘Ddarungi Safety Education Center’ in the metaverse will be a great opportunity for teenagers to enjoyably and naturally learn safe bicycle use,” adding, “Since citizen safety is the most important value, we will continue to introduce user-customized safety programs.”