A Realistic Content Hub to Open in the Heart of Gangnam

Opening of 'New Contents Enterprise Support Center' on Yeoksam-ro
Independent office spaces and 360-degree immersive studio established
Production facilities and equipment offered at affordable rental rates

[Asia Economy Reporter Jonggil Lee] Immersive content is based on immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and holograms. It offers high realism and expands the scope of experiences, making its future prospects promising. Global market research firms like Statista predict that the global market size will exceed $350 billion (approximately 486.5 trillion KRW) next year.

Domestically, securing competitiveness is challenging. There are few specialized companies, so enjoyable content is limited. Support for workforce development, equipment, and facilities is required. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will invest 125.5 billion KRW next year. It will support small and medium-sized enterprises' production and host international events. Investments in cultural technology research and development (R&D) will also expand, including securing intellectual property (IP) for the metaverse (extended virtual world) and creating real and virtual performance environments.

The hub is the New Content Enterprise Support Center, opened by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) on the 21st. It is located on Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where startup and investment companies are concentrated. It offers affordable rent, independent office spaces, multipurpose studios, a 360 immersive studio, editing rooms, a large LED lounge, seminar rooms, and conference rooms. It also supports in-depth business diagnosis, networking among startups, and connections with large corporations and investors.

The resident companies include fifteen firms such as Gieoi, The Plunge, Live K, Rajen, Bio AI, Beco Entertainment, Soul X, Alessio, Alimoli Studio, MYRO, Inner Buzz, EO Contents Group, Fluent, Plumd, and Healing Sound. They share the commonality of producing content using immersive technologies like VR, AR, mixed reality (MR), artificial intelligence (AI), holograms, and projection mapping.

Hana Kang, Manager of the Startup Operations Team at KOCCA, explained, "These companies were recognized by external experts for the competitiveness of their projects, participating personnel, and expected outcomes," adding, "We hope they will spend costs saved on rent, production facilities use, and equipment purchases on hiring staff and technology research to develop their unique capabilities."

The production facilities and equipment are organized into a one-stop system. The multipurpose studio is equipped with two latest 4K video cameras (full-frame 4K camcorders), high-performance microphones, fixed and mobile lighting (LED RGBW panel lights), a multi-output device (12G production switcher system), and 4K·UHD recording and playback devices. Adjacent are personal editing rooms, a Dolby system recording studio, and a rendering room (the process of converting flat images into 3D visuals considering external information), enabling narration and song recording, audio mixing, and editing all in one place.

3D stereoscopic video shooting takes place in the 360 immersive studio. Eighty-eight high-definition cameras of 4K or higher are installed. Hoseop Jo, Deputy Manager of the Startup Operations Team at KOCCA, said, "It can be used for almost all immersive content production," adding, "The produced videos can be reviewed on a 5.4×3.7m LED display located in the seminar room."

Resident companies express high satisfaction. Youngsun Park, CEO of Rajen, said, "With state-of-the-art facilities and equipment gathered in one place, all tasks can be handled quickly and accurately," adding, "It gives us confidence to carry out various projects." Rajen produces sign language content for hearing-impaired infants and toddlers. Its core technology is AI solution-based software that recognizes human movements as sign language and converts them into text or voice.

Hyewon Lee, CEO of Gieoi, said, "This is an excellent environment for our company, which requires many test beds," adding, "With the recording studio, we plan to dub overseas works into Korean." Gieoi develops audience-participatory XR content. For overseas works, Korean subtitles alone cannot induce smooth immersion.

KOCCA also helps these companies strengthen their own capabilities and establish development directions. SparkLabs, a startup-specialized accelerator, was selected as the program operator. Through consulting and setting company-specific goals, it provides programs such as mentoring, business matching, and promotional support tailored to the resident companies' needs.

Hyunrae Jo, President of KOCCA, pledged, "We will spare no effort to support small and medium content and technology companies in utilizing the New Content Enterprise Support Center infrastructure to develop new content, commercialize it, and enter the global market."