Seoul Launches Metaverse Platform for Administrative Services Amid Digital Shift.

The city of Seoul has announced the launch of Metaverse Seoul, a new approach to administrative services designed to adapt to recent societal changes such as the shift toward non-social interactions, technological advances, and the rise of the digital generation.

The “Metaverse Seoul Master Plan” has been established in public space, and the city is being transformed in three phases: Introduction (’22), Expansion (’23 ~ ’24), and Settlement (’25 ~ ’26).

The first phase of Metaverse Seoul has already been established and includes administrative services in five areas: economy, education, taxation, administration, and communication.

The Metaverse Seoul app can be downloaded from Google Play or AppStore.

Seoul has set ‘freedom, community, and connection’ as the core values of Metaverse Seoul.

It aims to realize these values by implementing various public services such as ‘creative communication space,” ‘surreal space without discrimination,” and ‘reality convergence space.”

One of the core values, ‘freedom,” is demonstrated through the creation of community spaces for creative expression and accessible communication.

Examples include the Book Reading Plaza in Seoul, seasonal mini-games, civic participation contests, and the Mayor’s Office in the Metaverse.

These spaces allow citizens to participate in new community spaces around the clock.

The second core value, ‘camaraderie,’ is a world where everyone is an avatar and can live together without discrimination, such as body, age, or environment.

The ‘surreal space without discrimination’ includes fintech labs, business support centers, and Seoul’s top 10 tourist attractions.

Participants who become avatars can interact in reality regardless of their physical body, age, or environment, and opportunities can be prepared to create value by connecting virtual and real life.

Finally, the third core value, “connection’ is a “convergence space of reality” where virtual and real, people and people, and people and things are connected.

In the future, virtual consultation rooms for young people, 120 chat consultation hours for citizens’ petitions, the issuing of citizens’ documents, and Tax Square (local tax service) will become the usual communication channels for citizens.

The Metaverse Seoul platform aims to provide citizens with a convenient and immersive experience of new administrative services, promote community engagement, and break down barriers to discrimination.