The South Korean city of Seoul has announced its plans to become the first government to establish a metaverse platform. Set to be known as Metaverse Seoul, the platform is said to be creating a metaverse ecosystem for its municipal administration over three separate stages from next year onwards.
According to the announcement press release, the programme will kick off with a virtual ringing of the Bosingak Belfry bell at the end of this year, and will expand to also deliver a virtual Mayor's Office, Seoul FinTech Lab, Invest Seoul, and Seoul Campus Town.
The government seems to really be doubling down on this, as it has already announced that it will also be opening a Metaverse 120 Center in 2023, which will see avatars of public officials available to help provide information to anyone who visits.
On top of this, there will be several tourist attractions coming to the platform as part of its Virtual Tourist Zone, and Seoul's leading festivals, including the Lantern Festival will be held in the metaverse platform as well from 2023, so people all over the world can join in on the celebration.
Seoul aims to achieve all of this as part of its five-year metaverse master plan, which includes 20 promotional tasks, and all of this has been designed as part of Seoul's strategy to turn the city into a "future emotional city".