Quick take:
- Changwon has joined a growing list of South Korean cities pursuing metaverse projects.
- The industrial city is looking to build a digital replica in the metaverse.
- The city plans to spend 13 billion Korean won (about US$9.07 million) to build the industrial complex.
South Korea’s coastal city, Changwon has announced plans to build a digital version of itself in the metaverse. The southern peninsula industrial city plans to spend 13 billion Korean won (about US$9.07 million) to build the industrial complex in the metaverse.
The project is part of the city’s strategy to promote businesses and products in the digital world.
According to the announcement, Changwon will work with the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation, an organisation established under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to build the digital twin.
The city will leverage digital twin technology, which enables organisations to recreate perfect inch-by-inch virtual models of physical objects.
The metaverse version of the city’s industrial complex will also be used as a testing ground for future advancements in technology and the environment.
Changwon is a midsized industrial city with a population of a little over a million. According to data from the city’s website, it has 2,871 local registered businesses in the industrial complex employing 122,625 people.
Commenting on the city’s digital strategy, Changwon mayor Hong Nam-pyo at Changwon’s digital platform conference last Friday said: “The city of Changwon will win the first position in the fourth industrial revolution through focusing on rebuilding the industrial structure with mobility, artificial intelligence, hyper-connection [technology] and more.”
Changwon’s latest digital project is part of the country’s grand strategy of becoming a leader in the metaverse economy. Earlier this year, the national government revealed a multi-pronged strategy that involved teaming up with over 200 metaverse and blockchain-focused companies to promote the adoption of the metaverse in the country.
In April, the country committed $186.7 million toward building the metaverse. Changwon is following in the footsteps of Seoul and Busan, which have already unveiled their blockchain strategies to lead the adoption of the technology in the country.
Asia has been among the leading early adopters of web3, with China, Singapore, and Japan hosting some of the largest corporations that have forayed into the next generation of the internet.
In Korea, companies like Netmarble and Cube Ent lead corporations in the metaverse and blockchain race, while China’s Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings, and JD.com have also jumped on the web3 bandwagon.
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