Learn Korean and have fun on the King Sejong Institute Metaverse Campus!

At 3pm on November 25, the King Sejong Institute Metaverse Campus will be introduced on a pilot basis until the end of this year before its official launch scheduled for next year. Korean language learners around the world can meet and speak Korean with each other in real-time at virtual versions of the King Sejong Institute campus, Han River Park, or Gwangjang Market.

The King Sejong Institute Foundation (President Lee Hae-young) released the King Sejong Institute Metaverse Campus (ksif.zep.site) at 3pm on November 25 and run it on a pilot basis until the end of this year.

After the pilot operation, the foundation is planning to officially launch the program with stable service. The ten-year-old foundation has created a metaverse-based campus in which Korean language learners around the world can meet and immerse themselves in Korean language and culture without the limits of time and space.

This virtual space reproduces not only the King Sejong campus but also a number of famous places in South Korea, including the Han River Park, Gwangjang Market, Dongdaemun Market, downtown areas in Seoul, and Seowon Village. The metaverse campus is based on ZEP, a 2D-based metaverse platform, in order to accommodate learners with only moderate IT infrastructure.

Learners can set up their own avatar and interact with other learners by video call. They can also engage in AI-assisted Korean practice in different circumstances by virtually visiting the Han River Park, Dongdaemun, downtown, or other popular areas in South Korea.

The best part of this metaverse campus is that people can practice Korean while they take part in cultural immersion. On October 25, the foundation launched a metaverse-based Korean conversation class, which was modelled on the offline Korean conversation classes at the King Sejong Institute. This pilot class is currently attended by 552 people.

The metaverse-based Korean conversation class is an intensive Korean language practice class for people with mid- to higher-level Korean language skills. The foundation’s metaverse campus was at first opened only to these students.

To celebrate the opening of the metaverse campus to all of the institute’s Korean language learners, the foundation will host a concert of Korean fusion music at the outdoor performance hall on the metaverse campus. There will also be an event in which learners can invite their family members and friends to a metaverse exhibition of works created by both lecturers and students. Once the pilot period is over, content related to Korean culture will be added to the metaverse program in order to enable Korean language learners to enjoy various cultural experiences, such as bullet-speed delivery (chongal baedal) and a Korean-style sauna (jjimjilbang), in a VR setting. In addition to the escape room game that is included in the pilot program, other games including traditional Korean music and yut will also be added.

“I’m very happy to move beyond the 244 online and offline King Sejong Institutes in 84 countries and introduce this metaverse campus in which people around the world can learn Korean language and culture in new and exciting ways,” said President Lee Hae-young of the King Sejong Institute Foundation. “We will continue to find fun, innovative, and effective means by which people can learn Korean language and culture.”

(Source)

https://www.ksif.or.kr/cop/bbs/selectBoardArticle.do?nttId=9220000004661&bbsId=BBSMSTR_000000000011&pageIndex=1