South Korean Government Builds Metaverse In Pathbreaking Endeavor

The South Korean government has indicated plans to kickstart the metaverse industry in the nation by creating jobs and supporting companies.

As part of its Digital New Deal, a program for investing in new technologies, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technologies has its eyes set on metaverse expansion, CNBC reported Monday.

South Korea's Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hyesook said that metaverse has indefinite potential with the government earmarking 223.7 billion won (about $180 million) for the endeavour.

Seoul’s metropolitan government has also started building a 3.9 billion-won metaverse platform that will allow citizens to access public services virtually.

Metaverse is a virtual world created with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. In recent times, many governments have shown interest in embracing the metaverse.

Notably, South Korea’s investment of around $180 million is among the first investments in the nascent industry to be made by a national government and is a cautious first step into the metaverse.

This indicates the interest of the South Korean government in crypto technology and this could also provide a model for others to follow.

“It’s interesting, it’s predominantly a private sector and Big Tech-driven initiative and trend. Governments have not done much beyond South Korea,” Yugal Joshi, a partner at research firm Everest Group, told CNBC.

Other Asian government bodies are embracing the metaverse too. Shanghai’s authorities are also keen to begin public services to be built with the metaverse in mind.