The investment indicates South Korea's curiosity about a technology that may come to dominate in the near future.
According to the official statement released on May 30, the South Korean government will invest more than 223.7 billion won (estimated at $177.1 million) to jumpstart the metaverse industry by supporting a number of projects.
Kum Hyesook, Minister of Science and ICT, defined the metaverse as “an uncharted digital continent with indefinite potential.” Firstly, the funding will be used for establishing a 3.9 billion-won metaverse platform. By using it, residents will be able to access public services virtually.
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Interestingly enough, metaverse projects had taken a lot of South Korea’s attention in late 2021. For instance, in February, the Ministry of ICT stated that it would launch a $185 million fund to implement blockchain technologies into the entertainment business, as well as introduce the metaverse into highly digitized cities.
In fact, such a big fund makes South Korea one of the few countries to invest in this “digital continent.” Hopefully, South Korea’s decision to fund metaverse initiatives will provide a good example that other countries might want to follow.
Earlier in May, during the World Economic Forum (WEF), metaverse was one of the most important topics that were discussed during the event. Various experts met to talk about the use cases of such technology and how it might support scientists in the medical area by providing a virtual ground for tasks that couldn’t be carried out in real life. In addition to that, several presenters also provided their views on where non-fungible tokens (NFTs) might be applied.
In other news, the University of São Paulo (USP) has recently announced that it will conduct research on the importance of the metaverse in the forthcoming months.
