Elain Brown Tech 05.30.2022 07:May AM EDT

South Korea Is Investing Big in Metaverse — a Digital New Deal With a Budget of $177 Million

South Korea is going all in with Metaverse. The country plans to ride the wave of modernization through developing initiatives that could help companies provide thousands of jobs and create hundreds of businesses around the Metaverse.

These metaverse efforts include the development of the latest technology, cryptocurrency, and NFTs.

By investing in a national metaverse ecosystem, South Korea hopes to gain a competitive advantage over its international competitors in the development of the Metaverse.

The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, Science, and Future Planning of the country has committed to investing KRW 223.7 billion, which is approximately $186.7 million, in the project and to working toward attracting the most talented software developers possible.

South Korea's Metaverse Plans

South Korea, apart from its metaverse investment, is currently constructing a metaverse platform at the cost of 3.9 billion won to provide citizens with the ability to access public services in a virtual environment in the metropolitan government of Seoul.

As reported by CNBC, the Metaverse has been described as an uncharted digital continent with indefinite potential by Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hyesook. The government has allotted a total of 223.7 billion won ($177.1 million) to support the endeavor.

The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea plans to kickstart the metaverse industry in the country by providing support to local businesses and creating new employment opportunities as part of its Digital New Deal initiative, which is a program for investing in new technologies in the economy of the country.

The investment allotted by the government of South Korea is a cautious first step into the Metaverse. This investment is among the first in the nascent industry to be made by a national government.

In addition to the financial support, the Ministry will try to entice the most qualified individuals to work within its metaverse ecosystem. In addition to community-oriented creative activities, it will host hackathons and other developer competitions.

As previously reported by COINGEEK, according to projections made by the Korean government, the advent of the Metaverse will result in the creation of more than 1.5 million new jobs. To fill these vacancies, the government intends to train more than 40,000 professionals and establish at least 200 new businesses.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced in November 2021 that their long-term goal was to make Seoul the first city in the world to enter the Metaverse.

South Korea the Next Metaverse Capital?

In the last few decades, South Korea has emerged as a technological powerhouse on a global scale. As a result, the country has given rise to industry giants such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai.

A Metaverse company may become the next big thing to ride the Korean wave.

As described by CoinDesk, the early adoption of the Metaverse hasn't been surprising to people who witnessed Korea's ascent from a developing economy to an economic powerhouse in the span of a generation.

According to CNBC, Yugal Joshi, a partner at research firm Everest Group, stated that South Korea's effort into the Metaverse is "interesting that it's predominantly a private sector and Big Tech-driven initiative and trend."

It demonstrates an interest in a technology that has the potential to become the focus of attention in the years to come, and it has the potential to serve as a model for others to replicate.

All of this makes sense within the context of the Web3 concept, which is a broad church that includes the Metaverse, virtual reality, augmented reality, and blockchain technology, in addition to digital assets such as cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).