Since October, Busan Tourism Organization conducted a metaverse-based game-type travel service, “Hearwia,” at Taejongdae. This application allows you to enjoy Taejongdae's nature, such as augmented reality photo studio and raising a hydrangea, through cellphone. This year, the best keyword on Initial Public Offering (IPO) in markets worldwide, including the United States, is “metaverse.” Metaverse is a compound word of “meta,” which means virtual, and “Universe,” which means the world. Virtual contents such as Pokemon Go and Zepeto, which are combined with the real world, can be viewed as example. Metaverse is also definitely popular among small investors investing in overseas stocks. In June, Tesla, the “unchanging No. 1” who was considered one-pick for stock ants, was S pushed out and Roblox, a metaverse leader, became the No. 1 net buyer. As such, Metaverse is becoming a new theme that has shaken the domestic stock market. Therefore, in this column, we will analyze the causes of the Metaverse sensation.

First, Metaverse has attracted attention as a new platform as non-face-to-face activities have soared since COVID-19. Zoom video conferences, which people frequently use for meetings during the COVID-19 crisis, are difficult for people to feel like they are in real meetings because non-verbal communications such as gestures is impossible. Participants may complain of extreme fatigue if they have a video conference for more than 30 minutes because they have to keep staring at the screen. Min Ji-Hoe (21, Dept. of Public Administration) said, “When I took classes through Zoom, I always got tired quickly and lost concentration during class.” To solve this problem, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the "Horizon Workroom," where real meetings are held in the virtual world with VR. In the workroom, participants in the meeting are expressed as customized avatars that resemble their appearance. In addition, virtual whiteboards are lined up along the conference room walls, allowing people to write and draw tables and pictures in this space like the actual conference room, enabling more realistic meetings. As such, COVID-19 highlighted the need for the metaverse.

Second, the users can feel vicarious satisfaction through the metaverse. The fashion industry, including luxury brands such as Gucci, is releasing its products on Metaverse. Gucci created “Gucci Garden” by realizing Gucci Villa in Zepeto and selling the products at 1/500 of the price compared to offline. Users of a young age, who have avatars on Zepeto can feel vicarious satisfaction by dressing their avatars in Gucci products. It is difficult for college students to flex Gucci clothes in reality. However, on Zepeto, they can decorate their avatars with only Gucci clothes with 90 Zem, about 6,000 won. In Zepeto, Gucci and other various fashion brands, such as Nike and MLB, have opened virtual stores. Produced by an American company, the metaverse platform "IMVU,” similar to Zepeto, offers online fashion shows and sells digitalized fashion products. The number of products sold in stores reaches 50 million, and more than 6 million users from each country have spent a total of $14 million, about 15.5 billion won on purchasing these products every month. This comes close to any other offline retailer.

Third, metaverse has an extensive range of applications. The metaverse industry is a collection of cutting-edge technologies, attracting numerous companies with various technologies. According to Lee Sang-Heon, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, “Unlike in the past, metaverse can be a second Internet. In that, it is expanding into a concept that links reality and virtual worlds in both directions.” Metaverse is still in its early stages but assuming that it becomes the second Internet, there is a prospect that the world of metaverse will unfold endlessly. Metaverse is not limited to some platform companies such as games and SNS. However, recently, cases of usage have been increasing in various industries such as healthcare, engineering, construction, and distribution. For example, there is a job called “metaverse architect” who designs virtual world spaces. To do this, other abilities, including graphic work, are also required because they also need to design a “user experience in the virtual world" together, not only just stacking blocks. The job requires a digital design sense that can fully realize what a company intends. Some companies are selling virtual fashion fabrics and subsidiary materials. In Closet Connect, a startup that sells various virtual fabrics, buttons, and zippers, some famous fabric, companies are located. Hence metaverse can be used in numerous fields, and their popularity has increased rapidly.

Lee Ji-Hye (Prof. of Design, PNU) said, “As various technologies and social phenomena continue to be reflected in metaverse with the development of technology, metaverse will continue to change into a new user-centered service in the future. According to Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist in early 2020, an "extensive range of contributors" is an important factor in the characteristics of the metaverse. Currently, services are provided mainly by specific companies, and young people accept and use the services. However, young people will create different content and experiences in the metaverse world as more autonomous contributors in the future. For young people, a digital native generations who are not unfamiliar with digital technology and seek new opportunities, metaverse will be a playground for their experiences in the future and are valuable as an ecosystem that leads to full economic value.”