Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency Successfully Completes the 2022 ASEAN-ROK XR Training Program

• 5-day ASEAN-ROK XR training program from November 28th to December 2nd was completed.
• 19 people including officials from the ASEAN countries of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam as well as Nepal participated in the program.
• Promotion of ASEAN-KOREA Joint Project through XR and Metaverse information exchange between countries.

BUSAN, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (President Jeong Mun-Seob) announced the ASEAN-ROK XR Training Program completion with 19 people from organizations related to cultural tourism as well as local government officials at the ASEAN-ROK ICT Convergence Village in Busan.

During five days from November 28th to December 2nd, the team developed specific cooperation measures between Korea and ASEAN in the field of XR and metaverse technology.

The training program was co-hosted by the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency, the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (Director-General Kim Ji-Sung) and the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (Secretary General Woo Kyoung-Ha).

The training program was organized to improve cooperation in the field of XR tourism and cultural heritage between Korea and ASEAN countries. The program consisted of XR/Metaverse theory training, Introduction of case studies of Korea XR/Metaverse tourism and cultural heritage and technology industry convergence, Tour of major facilities and companies in Korea and Writing joint project proposals by team and expert mentoring.

The trainees of the training program included 19 members from four ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam) and Nepal from ICT, culture and tourism-related organizations, and local governments. Based on the knowledge acquired through the training program, they made proposals for a joint project in the field of tourism and cultural heritage.

A total of nine joint project proposals came out from the training program:

1) Cambodia, Angkor Wat temple, application development to improve awareness of cultural heritage, FIND ANGKOR

2) Indonesia, Metatourism in Batu City

3) Nepal, provision of information about virtual tours through metaverization of Nepal region

4) Malaysia, Sarawak living museum in Fully Immersive Extended Reality

5) Malaysia, AIVACHI (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Assistant Cultural Heritage Information)

6) Malaysia, TAIPING SMART TOURISM GALLERY

7) Vietnam, Storytelling to promote UNESCO ICH through VR. The case of Vietnamese Giong Festival in Phu Dong and Soc temple

8) Vietnam, Applying XR-METAVERSE into preserving old architectural buildings in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong City

9) Vietnam, digitizing historical and cultural relics in Long An.

The experts will discuss the most promising project which will be promoted as the 'Korea-ASEAN XR Joint Project' next year.

Jeong Mun-Seob, President & CEO of BIPA said, “Through this training program, we have expanded the possibilities of cooperation in the field of XR and metaverse with Korea and ASEAN. Through an extended network, Korea-ASEAN XR cooperation is expected to increase opportunities for Korean companies to enter the market as well as promote cooperative exchanges between Korea and ASEAN countries."

Kim Ji-Sung, Director-General of the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO, said, “Amid the accelerated digital transformation since the COVID-19 pandemic, convergence attempts to combine digital technologies such as XR and metaverse with cultural heritage are being brought into focus. This training program will expand opportunities for future generations in ASEAN to join with interests in cultural heritage protection.”

"XR·Metaverse is an important technology that is in the limelight in various industries, including culture and tourism. Recently, TPO has also successfully completed its 10th general meeting under the theme of Normalization of tourism and using digital technology promotion of tourism," Woo Kyoung-Ha, Secretary General of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO) said. "We will continue to make efforts to strengthen the trainees’ capabilities and enhance cooperation between Korea and ASEAN based on the cooperation between the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency and TPO."