Rising as a Mega-Regional Metaverse Hub... Gumi City Selected as Final Winner for Northeast Region Hub Establishment and Operation Competition

Momentum Builds for Gumi-Led Gyeongbuk Metaverse Convergence Industry Cluster

Gyeongbuk, Gangwon, Gangneung, and Daegu Join Consortium with Total Project Cost of 18 Billion KRW

Gumi City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gumi City in Gyeongbuk has been finally selected as the Northeast Consortium in the “2022 Ultra-wide Area Metaverse Hub Construction and Operation Project Competition” promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Gyeongbuk Province, Gangwon Province, Gangneung City, Daegu City, and others are also participating in this consortium with Gumi City to start the Northeast Metaverse Hub Construction Project, which comprehensively supports the metaverse field with a total project cost of 18 billion KRW.

This project was reflected as a government project this year after Gumi City, Gyeongbuk Province, and the office of National Assembly member Kim Young-sik cooperated to propose and persuade the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Economy and Finance several times.

At the time of applying for the competition, Kim Jang-ho, who was the mayor-elect of Gumi City, visited the National Assembly and worked actively with local district lawmakers Ku Ja-geun and Kim Young-sik. Together with Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong, they united as one team to emphasize the high completeness of the Northeast Consortium’s project plan and the necessity of its promotion, enabling final selection for the project.

During the agreement process, Daegu also joined in addition to Gyeongbuk and Gangwon, which originally formed the consortium, activating the metaverse industry ecosystem in the Northeast region that accounts for more than one-third of the national territory and laying the foundation for mutual growth.

With the award of the Northeast Metaverse Hub Construction Project, the city has gained momentum to promote metaverse-related projects, including the 5G specialized network-based metaverse industrial complex demonstration project currently being planned.

It is expected that the creation of the Gyeongbuk Metaverse Convergence Industry Cluster centered on Gumi City will also gain momentum in the future.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho promised support for companies relocating to or starting up in Gumi City, saying, “I hope to realize the dream of the metaverse in Gumi City, where you can receive one-stop support from metaverse devices to content production support, talent cultivation, and enterprise development.”