"Visit the Metaverse Experience Space" Playground at COEX

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Radio Promotion Association announced on the 13th that the ‘Metaverse Playground,’ a metaverse (extended virtual world) experience space and a service development platform, will be operated at COEX in Seoul until the end of the year.

The Playground will provide the general public with opportunities to experience various metaverse contents in reality and virtuality based on 5G mobile communication, and will serve as infrastructure necessary for developers to create new metaverse contents and services.

In the ‘Metaverse Home’ space, users can control various electronic devices and watch TV while receiving guidance from a ‘virtual assistant’ that appears simultaneously upon wearing augmented reality (AR) glasses. In the ‘Metaverse Life’ space, it is possible to experience excellent domestic metaverse services in education, conventions, shopping, and medical fields.

In the ‘5G MEC Experience Zone,’ high-performance computing tasks are processed remotely, allowing users to experience real-time ultra-low latency content without downloading or installing large amounts of content. Based on the ‘Mirror World,’ which replicates the COEX underground shopping mall and other areas in a three-dimensional virtual space, users can also receive ‘AR navigation’ services via smartphones.

The Playground experience space is scheduled to operate until the end of this year, and the 5G MEC infrastructure will be operated continuously to be used for the development of metaverse contents and services by mobile carriers, small and medium enterprises, and startups.

Kim Jeongsam, Director of Software Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “Despite the recent high interest in the metaverse, there have not been many opportunities for the public to actually experience it,” adding, “We hope the Metaverse Playground will, even in a small way, enhance public understanding and consensus about the metaverse, and become infrastructure where young developers can find new opportunities and challenges using the metaverse as a stepping stone.”

At the opening ceremony, awards were also presented for the ‘VR Metaverse Contest,’ held over the past four months to discover excellent virtual reality (VR) remote education and meeting solutions developed by domestic companies. Grid Co., Ltd., which developed ‘Moim,’ received the Minister of Science and ICT Award, and Ventavr Co., Ltd., which developed ‘Ventaverse,’ received the Korea Radio Promotion Association President’s Award.