Source:
pixabay
Domestic
development of the VR/AR industry had a late start compared to global leaders. In
Korea, actual growth started in 2016 even though the technology was introduced
in the market earlier. Development was slow considering that VR/AR technology
has been in the spotlight as a future technology since 2010 when leading countries
such as the United States began developing the technology.
As
a late starter, the government decided to develop the industry and outlined a
growth technology plan to focus its investment. The goal for the VR/AR sector was
to develop more than ten companies with a revenue of over KRW 100 billion by 2025
and produce over 20 services integrating and converging the medical, manufacturing,
education, military and other sectors.
In
2019, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced KRW 30 billion support for the
development of digital VR/AR content in the medical, cultural, sports,
manufacturing, military, and education sectors.
VR/AR market size in Korea
|
|
2013
|
2014
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
|
Hardware
|
501.2
|
611.5
|
880.5
|
1,267.8
|
1,825.5
|
2,628.6
|
3,784.8
|
5,449.7
|
|
Content
|
51.3
|
65.3
|
83.1
|
105.7
|
134.6
|
171.3
|
218.0
|
277.4
|
Source: Institute for Information & Communications Technology
Promotion
Units: KRW billion
Unlike most of the world, Korea is focused more on hardware than
contents. The growth of the VR/AR industry is driven by creating hardware
focused on smartphones due to the influence of LG and Samsung Electronics. It
is a general belief that the hardware sector will slow once the market is
saturated while the content sector will grow exponentially. Without a change in
focus and investment in the contents sector, the VR industry will fail.
VR Industry Sectors
|
Game & Entertainment
|
Medical
|
Construction
|
Broadcast & Performance
|
|
-Provides
experience type content which maximizes the sense of immersion
-Head
Mounted Display (HMD) products specified for gaming
|
-Virtual
operation, human dissection exercise or for patients under great pain
-Remote
medical service
|
-Designing
infrastructural facilities such as bridges, dams
-Provides
edited design in real-time to customers.
|
-Provides
high-quality, high-definition contents
-Creates
and promotes music videos and showcases
|
|
Aviation & Military
|
Education
|
Tourism
|
Sports
|
|
-Flight
control training
-Parachute
and weapons training
|
Museum
experience, study molecular chemistry
|
-Attraction
visit experience
-Virtual
tour
|
-Increases
sense of immersion experience
-Experience
playing with a star player
|
Source: Institute for Information &
Communications Technology Promotion
Currently,
the Industry can be divided into eight sectors. These sectors are classified
according to existing industries but as the technology enhances opportunities, the
fusion and conversion with other industries will make the boundaries of the
industry limitless.
Major Players
SK
Telecom took a unique approach to increase awareness. They collaborated with ICT content companies
such as Facebook, Kakao, Nexon. SK Telecom is also working with Kakao VX to
develop a Kakao Friends IP, a VR system called ‘Virtual Social World.’ Lastly,
SK Telecom contracted with Nexon to build a VR game in which users can play
simple mini sports games in a first-person movement-based content with Nexon’s
famous game characters.
KT
chose a different approach to the industry by introducing the ‘Super VR tv.’
The Super VR tv allows viewers to watch IPTV in a VR environment with a
180-inch-wide screen max tv appearing as a theater, provides over 210,000 vods
(video on demand) and 270 channels in 4K UHD. KT has constructed the UI
interface based on ergonomics to reduce discomfort when using the Super VR tv
for long periods.
LG
U+ has invested KRW 26 billion in a five-year project for broadcast
communication content and next-generation wired/wireless lines. They are also
focused on connecting their cloud system with AR to provide realistic content
and HMD products which do not require a PC to access. LG U+ has partnered with
Google and Nvidia to provide various AR and VR content and services while
working with startup companies.
LG
Electronics first provided ‘VR for GS’ where one could mount their LG phone on
a plastic device to experience the VR system; a similar product was introduced
by Google but made out of paper. In 2016, they developed ‘LG 360 VR’ which was
an HMD product but was lighter and more portable than other products. LG 360
CAM was also introduced to help consumers create VR content. During MWC 19, LG Electronics
promoted VR/AR experience sectors in a booth that was generated a lot of
interest at the show.
Samsung
Electronics introduced the HMD Gear VR in collaboration with Oculus, which is
number one in the global market. However, recent events such as discontinuing
updates suggest that the HMD Gear VR services will shut down soon.
Regulations issues
There
are numerous reasons to why domestic technology has fallen behind other
countries but ‘positive regulations’ where permitted
activities are defined and everything else is prohibited is one of the main
barriers to new technology.
The composition of the VR/AR technology creates friction with
regulators. VR/AR technology requires hardware, software (platform) and
content. However, as the regulations are not specific for each product, conflicts
arise among the three. For example, a medical device is required to undergo a
MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety -Korea FDA) approval and be checked by
the National Health Insurance. However, there are no clear standards regarding
software and content.
Content classification is also is not standardized. Other than the
fact that most of the domestic VR/AR investment is related to hardware, another
reason the content development is slow is that there is no clear classification
for content. The content can be classified as a game even though it was created
as a movie. An interesting story was when a Korean company produced a VR/AR
movie which generated movie awards, but was permitted to show in movie theaters
as it was classified as a game.
VR/AR Events
i) Seoul VR AR Expo 2020 (SVAE)
Date:
April 23rd to 25th (Moved to fall due to COVID 19)
Location:
Seoul, Coex
Categories:
Content, Platform, Network, Device
Webpage:
http://eng.seoulvrar.com/
In
2019, over 13,000 visitors from 44 countries and 350 booths from 8 countries participated
in the SVAE. The exhibition focused on the B2B sector, which provided the
newest trends and products. There were correlated events of an overseas
supporting event, professional conference, networking party, IR day, and others.
ii) VR Expo
Date:
October (projected)
Location:
Seoul, Coex
Categories:
Manufacturing, National defense, Medical treatment, Education, Construction,
Platform, Game, Video, Theme park.
Webpage:
http://vrexpo.kr/eng_index.php
In
2018, over 17,850 visitors from 13 countries and 113 booths from 10 countries
participated in VR Expo. The exhibition opens with the Korea VR Festival (KVRF)
which included events such as Global conference, business consulting, VR game
face-off, and other related events.
Conclusion
The
VR/AR technology is a core piece of the new IT system which will change the
future, should be developed by a collaboration of private companies and the
government. Even though there are active changes and government support, there
are still ongoing issues. To overcome these difficulties the private sectors
and the government will have to have a deep dive into how to create an
environment that the technology can flourish without obstacles of regulations
and laws.
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