Gyeongbuk Province Unveils Christmas Metaverse Playground... 6 Locations Including Buncheon Santa Village and Hahoe Village

Bonghwa Buncheon Station, a Christmas playground decorated by Gyeongbuk Province in the metaverse space.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-seon] Gyeongbuk Province, in collaboration with the Korea and World University Metaverse Club Federation (UniMeta), will unveil a new youth cultural event called the "Christmas Metaverse Playground" on the global metaverse platform 'Minecraft' on the 23rd.

Minecraft is a representative metaverse game set in an infinitely expansive 3D world where users can gather materials, craft items, build, and engage in economic activities using their own avatars.

This event is a special metaverse Christmas event held in a virtual space called "Gyeongbuk Christmas Village," where over 300 youth from 22 universities in the United States, Japan, Canada, and Korea, all members of UniMeta, will participate and operate for four days until midnight on the 26th.

Gyeongbuk Christmas Village features six representative tourist attractions of Gyeongbuk, the metaverse capital of Korea, recreated in the metaverse, allowing attendees to watch and enjoy the event and communicate with others without spatial or temporal restrictions.

The six locations, planned and decorated by youth as metaverse spaces, include the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office, a promotional space for the metaverse capital Gyeongbuk; Bunchon Station Santa Village in Bonghwa County, famous as the K-Christmas Village; Hahoe Village in Andong City, representing Korean spiritual culture; Cheomseongdae in Gyeongju, the oldest observatory in East Asia; Dokdo Island in Ulleung County, the most beautiful island in Korea; and Homigot Square in Pohang, the easternmost point of the Korean Peninsula.

Visitors to this space can not only tour the tourist attractions but also enjoy Christmas content using their avatars, communicate with university students and youth nationwide, and create secondary works such as photos and videos.

During the event, individuals or groups can enjoy various Christmas mini-games such as "Snow Fighter," "Santa Riding," "Find the Cookies," and "Maze Game."

Metaverse items and currency earned through the games will be donated to a Christmas virtual asset fundraising event and will be used for the upcoming Youth Creator Festival promoted by Gyeongbuk.

From 3 PM to 4 PM on the 23rd, the opening ceremony of the Christmas Metaverse Playground will be held on YouTube, attended by "Lunches," a metaverse creator from Gyeongbuk.

A Gyeongbuk Province official stated, "Only the 300 invited university students can enter the playground and play games, while the general public can only watch."

Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, "I am pleased to meet metaverse talents who will lead Korea's future," and encouraged, "We will spare no support so that young people can realize their potential and dreams."

Gyeongbuk Province plans to continue promoting various youth support projects using the metaverse, such as the Youth Metaverse Creation Festival and the International Youth Metaverse Conference.