[Courtesy of KidZania Seoul]
KidZania is a global job experience theme park that was launched in Mexico in 1996. It operates theme parks in 27 cities in 20 countries around the world. In South Korea, the Seoul branch opened in 2010 and the Busan branch opened in 2016. Children can play various job roles such as a police officer, firefighter and doctor.
The metaverse is a digital world that offers firsthand experiences, created by the convergence of physical reality and virtual spaces. Metaverse platforms are widely used in various sectors through super-fast 5G networks. In September 2021, South Korea's major game publisher Nexon held a metaverse recruitment fair to look for interns at a virtualized office building and a map from Nexon's massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), "The Kingdom of the Winds," based on Korea's ancient mythology during the Goguryeo era. Naver's avatar platform Zepeto gained more than 200 million users by offering virtual spaces where users can create their own avatars.
LG Uplus (LGU+) and KidZania Korea said in a joint statement on October 13 that the two companies will offer metaverse-based job experience service in 2022. The mobile carrier and children's theme park will jointly design avatar characters for the project that will be available on LGU+'s educational programs for children including English, science and art classes.
"We hope the service provides useful hands-on experience for children in times when external activities are difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
South Korean education sectors are adopting metaverse-based programs. Education authorities in Seoul are operating metaverse-based science classes for about 2,100 students to explore a virtual exhibition hall called "Gather Town" with their avatars. Education authorities in Daegu some 240 kilometers (149 miles) southeast of Seoul are also designing metaverse-based club activities where students can participate with their avatars.
