Seongnam, Seoul's satellite city with a population of nearly 1 million, is planning to launch its copy in the metaverse. The digital version of the municipality will provide the citizens with access to vital services and information based on NFT citizenship. The project titled “Metaverse Special City Seongnam” is scheduled to start around May or June 2023, soon after the completion of the development stage in April.
The project fits into the plan announced by the South Korean government earlier this month to boost the Web3 industry with a “Metaverse Industry Promotion Law” – a set of policies that would support the usage of cutting-edge technologies and promote the country as a global crypto and metaverse hub.
It also follows in the footsteps of Seoul's ambitions. According to last year's announcement by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the South Korean capital is bound to be the first major city to join the metaverse under the name “Metaverse Seoul”. This declaration was confirmed a few weeks ago – with hints of it going live as soon as November this year – apparently prompting competition from other municipalities.
Significant web3 developments have also been taking place in Busan, the second-largest city in Korea. Even though it's not “going meta” yet, the municipality signed in late August a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Binance, the biggest crypto exchange worldwide.
According to the agreement, the company will provide technological and infrastructural support to develop a blockchain ecosystem for Busan. The city's aim is to “establish the Busan Digital Asset Exchange as a global integrated platform for digital assets”.
Cloning itself on the metaverse may be the next step to follow.
