- Title: South Korea's 'Gen MZ' leads rush into the 'metaverse'
- Date: 7th September 2021
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (RECENT - AUGUST 6, 2021) (REUTERS) MAP SHOWING APARTMENTS IN GANGNAM AREA ON METAVERSE PLATFORM 'EARTH2' WEBSITE OF PLATFORM / ICON READING (English): "BUY LAND"
- Embargoed: 21st September 2021 18:19
- Keywords: Decentraland Earth 2 SK Telecom South Korea avatars fund ifland investors metaverse virtual
- Location: SEOUL, CHUNCHEON, SOUTH KOREA / INTERNET
- City: SEOUL, CHUNCHEON, SOUTH KOREA / INTERNET
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA008ETUXABX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Korean engineer Shaun has big plans to develop parcels of land he has snapped up for millions of won (thousands of dollars) in recent years into long-term money-spinners.
And construction won't be hampered by any coronavirus pandemic-spurred labour shortages or increased costs. Shaun's grand project is all in the blockchain-based virtual world Decentraland.
"I'm planning to (design buildings for) K-pop and K-dramas, as well as develop Korean-style costumes and share them with people all over the world," the 30-year-old investor told Reuters. "That can probably lead to a profitable business model in two to three years."
The "metaverse" may be a futuristic prospect for most of the world, but it's increasingly a reality in South Korea where soaring home prices and income inequality have enticed the so-called Generation MZ, or Gen MZ, into alternative online worlds. Their digital avatars play games, walk around with friends, host social gatherings, shop and party - and make plans to build cities and profitable businesses.
Shaun, who declined to be identified other than by the name of his Decentraland avatar, has gradually immersed himself in the platform over the past three years.
SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, launched a metaverse 'ifland' in July where denizens can host and attend meetings with other animated avatars. SK Telecom is part of a 'Metaverse Alliance' launched by the South Korean government in mid-May that includes more than 200 companies and institutions.
South Koreans have been especially open to the attractions of the metaverse, a trend that some social experts attribute largely to the disgruntled MZ generation - a term coined in the country that merges Millennials and Generation Z, which encompasses those born between 1981 and the early 2010s.
"We can feel the sadness and anger of the MZ generation (millennials and Generation Z) as they cannot obtain assets in the real world, so they try to secure property in metaverse," said Kim Sang-kyun, an industrial engineering professor at Kangwon National University who has published two best-selling books on the metaverse since late 2020. "Also, as digital natives, they make no distinction between the digital space and reality and naturally accept it."
For 37-year old Choi Ji-ung, it was frustration with real estate prices and regulations in the physical world that drove him to buy property in geolocation-based platform Earth 2.
Choi's 50 million won investment in the pricey Gangnam district in Seoul on Earth 2 is something he can only dream of in the real world.
"It has surged 40% since my (purchase)," he said.
Fuelling many of the metaverse platforms are non-fungible tokens (NFT), intangible digital assets encompassing everything from artworks and videos to clothes and avatars, which are purchased with cryptocurrency. Decentraland offers a limited number of digital land parcels, or LAND, in the form of NFTs that are acquired using MANA, a fungible token that acts as the game's currency. MANA is purchased using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether.
Earth 2 Chief Executive Shane Isaac told Reuters South Koreans were the most active users on the platform, based on self-affiliation, spending about $9.1 million, followed by the United States with $7.5 million and Italy with $3.9 million.
Decentraland said its platform had more than 7,067 active users from South Korea in the 30 days to Sept. 1, second only the United States.
(Production: Daewoung Kim, Minwoo Park, Heejung Jung) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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