The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister PARK Bo Gyoon, MCST) and King Sejong Institute Foundation (Chairperson LEE Haiyoung, KSIF) officially launched Metaverse King Sejong Institute (http://ksif.zep.site) this year. To celebrate the launch of the opening, the opening event was held on February 7 (Tue) at the Multi Content Testbed (Seoul), which was joined by CHOI Su-ji, Youth Policy Advisor at the MCST, 2030 Advisory Board, and broadcasters Daniel Lindemann (Germany), Alberto Mondi (Italy), and Lucky (India), who are public relations ambassadors for the Foundation.

Aiming to respond to all aspects of the demand for Korean language learning, which is exploding around the world due to the growing popularity of K-Culture, the MCST and the KSIF have established Metaverse King Sejong Institute for non-Koreans who are learning Korean as a second language to freely interact in Korean anytime, anywhere and to experience K-Culture simultaneously.

Considering the fact that the number of people on the waiting list to sign up at a local King Sejong Institute to learn Korean is approaching 10,000 (9,148, as of September 2022), Metaverse King Sejong Institute is expected to be an important foundation for lowering the entry barrier to learning Korean.

In particular, to realize the value of global solidarity, Metaverse King Sejong Institute was implemented to help Korean language learners living in countries with relatively weak IT bases, such as those in developing countries, enjoy the program with little difficulty. For the Metaverse King Sejong Institute, a free platform based on 2D graphics that can accommodate a larger number of concurrent users than 3D was selected, and it is configured based on the Web so that anyone with access to the Internet can use the service.

Metaverse King Sejong Institute has a Campus Space consisting of a Lecture Hall where Korean language classes are conducted, Cultural Experience Hall where one can experience K-culture, and an Event Hall where large-scale events are held; plus, a Village Space where one can practice speaking in Korean while experiencing daily life of Korea. The Village Space features Korea's representative attractions and landmarks, such as Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul Station, Hangang Park, and Gwangjang Market, which are expected to boost the interests of foreigners to visit and explore Korea in person. In addition, as each space is closely linked to the learning process used by “Sejong Korean Conversation (Published by the Foundation),” a basic textbook used by local King Sejong Institutes, learners can practice speaking in an immersion environment in a variety of interaction settings.

The MCST and the KSIF provided a pilot service, Metaverse King Sejong Institute from November 25 to December 31 of last year, and a total of 4,643 people visited on the day of service launch, with a total of 480 average daily learners from 123 countries accessing and interacting in Korean.

Metaverse King Sejong Institute will be officially launched and will first unveil two new types of “Korean life 360° virtual reality (VR) video clips” that will help users experience life in Korea realistically, in addition to the map for an escape room game. After that, Korean content followed by K-Culture experience game content will be released every month.

Meanwhile, the MCST earmarked 56.2 billion won, up by 3 billion won from the previous year, as the budget related to the King Sejong Institute, a flagship brand aiming to disseminate the Korean language and culture overseas.