Here Is the First Real City in the Virtual World

South Korea’s capital will deploy its “Metaverse Seoul” project on New Year’s Eve and plans on having a communal and virtual space for citizens and tourists alike ready by 2026.

“As a new communication tool, citizens will be able to easily connect with public information, new opportunities for civic engagement, and use various infrastructures provided by the city,” says Kim Sang-kyun, a professor of industrial engineering at Kangwon National University who studies the metaverse.

Seoul will become the first city to have a full-service virtual world where its citizens will be able to make reservations for city-run facilities, ride city tour buses, visit recreated historical and cultural heritage sites, as well as file administrative complaints. The metaverse is believed to be the next frontier of the Internet where avatars interact in the virtual realm as people do in the physical world – like attending classes and hanging out with friends. Metaverse Seoul is a $34 million project invested over five years and is part of a larger scheme to establish the city as a hub for emerging technology.