The Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technologies of South Korea plans to direct public funding in the amount of $185 million to create its own metaverse.
As part of the five-year “Virtual World Expansion Strategy” designed to place South Korea among the world’s top five metaverse creators, the Virtual World Academy will be established. The functions of the organization will include state support and encouragement of the active participation of commercial companies interested in the implementation of virtual world projects.
An initiative was proposed by the Ministry of Justice to take measures of state political support that would increase the competitiveness of national companies. Also, as part of the “Virtual World Expansion Strategy”, it is planned to explore the possibilities of metaverses for the virtual industrial growth of cities, education and the media.
About $185 million will be allocated to finance the program to create a national metaverse in South Korea. According to Jung Ki-hyun, regional director of Meta in South Korea, the country is considered a favorable environment for creating a metaverse. He also noted South Korea’s public receptivity, production capabilities, and accessible environment for content creators.
One of the leading Korean electronics manufacturers Samsung Electronics invested in the Ready Player Me metaverse platform in December, and launched a virtual store on Decentraland this year.