The South Korean authorities are going to spend $117.1 million to invest in the metaverse. This is the first time that a state has officially allocated money for the development of virtual reality.
Head of the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology of South Korea Lim Hyesook declaredthat the agency plans to launch a metaverse industry by creating jobs and supporting companies.
“The Metaverse is an unexplored digital continent with uncertain potential,” Lim said.
The official added that the emphasis on the metaverse was made as part of South Korea’s new digital development program. Lim said that along with the virtual reality platform, South Korea plans to create a “K-Metaverse Academy” to interact with global startups.
The Academy is going to support startups in the metaverse from all over the world and help scale projects. The academy will be a joint project between the Korean government and 220 companies creating products for the metaverse market. As a next step, the academy will also train 40,000 professionals in this field by 2026.
“One metaverse can create 1.5 million jobs in a virtual ecosystem,” said the Minister of Science and ICT.
The Metaverse Venture Project includes plans to create a Korean Language Institute to mediate global user interaction. With the help of the language institute, foreigners will be able to participate in virtual projects dedicated to medicine, K-Pop, tourism and art.
A significant part of the plans is the development of regulation of the virtual reality industry. Korea intends to introduce a strict user policy to prevent illegal activities, harassment and all kinds of exploitation. According to Yugal Joshi, a partner at research firm Everest Group, no country has invested as much in the metaverse as South Korea.
“In Asia, the metaverse is predominantly a private sector and big tech initiative. Governments outside of South Korea have done little to support it,” Joshi said.
With the implementation of the metaverse, Korea will have to eliminate comprehensive rules regarding NFTs. Currently, NFTs are a legal gray area and are not subject to the same rules as cryptocurrencies in South Korea.
Source: Bits
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