Jeju Special Self-governing Province was finally selected for the open call for the 2022 Metaverse Platform Development Support Project, which is supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Radio Promotion Association.

This project is a new type of extended virtual reality (metaverse) development support project that differentiates itself from existing platforms in various areas such as everyday life and economic activities. The project plans to provide local contents to establish the relevant industrial ecosystem and invest a total of 2.24 billion won including 1.54 billion won in state funds and 700 million won in local funds to complete the project by 2023.

Since 2021, Jeju has been preparing an inter-metropolitan metaverse agreement with Daegu-si and Gwangju-si to identify inter-metropolitan metaverse-based local services and respond to government projects, subsequently succeeding in attracting the above open-call project based on strategic cooperation between the three regions.

The main aspect of the project is developing contents and services to establish local-oriented metaverse services with the aim to vitalize the local economy, focusing on urban space information for Jeju, Daegu, and Gwangju, as well as local-specialized tourism services.

In order to develop tourism-themed inter-metropolitan metaverse services as part of a linked strategy to collaborate based on the resources of Jeju, Daegu, and Gwangju, Jeju is focusing on nature tourism (World Heritage Site), Daegu on industrial tourism, and Gwangju on art tourism, subsequently creating future attractions and utilizing inter-regional infrastructure to create a virtual economy as metaverse-based tourism cities.

Combining a total of six local-specialized tourist destinations and metaverses, the project aims to develop services that will lead the vitalization of the local economy, with plans to establish 3D spatial data and create tourism contents to provide integrated services for the general public.

To this end, Jeju will establish real-life spaces such as Geomun Oreum, Manjanggul Lava Tubes, and World Natural Heritage Village as virtual spaces that can be experienced firsthand, while also providing information on their preservation and active usage, develop tourism and vacation products, and sell related merchandise, in addition to video services for key tourist destination related to the haenyeo of Udo Island, a Global Geopark.

Director Yoon Hyeong-seok of the Jeju Future Strategy Bureau commented, “We will ensure open data access and establish spatial data through this project, which is being jointly conducted as a model of inter-metropolitan cooperation,” and added, “We will strive even harder to establish future industries and foundations to generate high-added-value profits and create jobs through the collaboration between local businesses and small merchants.”