There is a space where several people can gather without wearing masks. It is a virtual space in the metaverse. Metaverse is a word created by combining Meta, which means virtual and transcendental, and Universe, which means the world. The Metaverse is a three-dimensional virtual space, where individuals in the form of avatars can engage in activities that take place. People can gather on the metaverse to play games or have business meetings. In addition, they can engage in economic activities such as making or spending money. The Metaverse has developed greatly due to technology based on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In addition, as non-face-to-face activities have increased due to COVID-19, the Metaverse is drawing more and more attention from people. Let's take a closer look at the background of the Metaverse's growth, marketing using the Metaverse, and the prospects of the Metaverse.

The Reason Why the Metaverse Is Drawing Attention

Development of 5G, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality Technologies

                In the early 2000s, CyWorld and Second Life which used individual avatars to interact with online neighbors. Until 2010, the public used these services a lot, but due to the repetitive service and the limitations of Internet technology, they have not received much attention since then. However, in the 2020s, the Metaverse began to grow rapidly. With the development of smartphones, 5G, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) technologies have developed enough to create avatars, realistic and diverse activities are possible in the virtual world. Roblox, an American game platform, is gaining explosive popularity among users. Roblox surpassed 1 trillion won in sales in 2020, up more than 80% from 2019, and sales are expected to exceed 2.2 trillion won this year. Roblox gained a lot of popularity as a communication channel with friends amongst elementary school students in the United States who have not been able to go to school since the Pandemic last year. Roblox is a game in which users make avatars that look like Lego and play in the virtual world. Game users can build and operate a theme park, adopt pets, and scuba dive with other users in Roblox. They can also engage in economic activities using the virtual currency Robux. Therefore, the development of new technologies has attracted attention from people because they have made it possible to do various and realistic activities in the virtual world.

Increased Non-Face-to-Face Service Due to COVID-19

               As the unprecedented COVID-19 era has come and continues to be a part of our lives, face-to-face contact has become more and more difficult, a metaverse where people can gather virtually is attracting attention as an alternative to meeting spaces. Now that the number of people able to meet at once is limited, the Metaverse is very attractive as a communication space. This is because people can meet without being restricted by how many are in the group. They are also not restricted to contacting each other by message or phone, but rather engaging in realistic actions such as gathering in a virtual space to play games or have meetings. Accordingly, various metaverse services using non-face-to-face methods such as remote education and teleconferencing are emerging. Universities are making new attempts, such as holding remote entrance ceremonies using the Metaverse. In March this year, Soonchunhyang University held a virtual entrance ceremony in cooperation with SK Telecom. Since students are not allowed to gather on campus, Soonchunhyang University's Grand Stadium was implemented on the metaverse. About 2,500 freshmen participated in the entrance ceremony through avatars wearing jumpers of their departments. It was a virtual entrance ceremony, but freshmen listened to the president's congratulatory speech and participated in the campus tour. The reaction of students and the public to the new type of entrance ceremony, which has never been seen before, was very positive. As COVID-19 is prolonged, the number of meetings using the Metaverse is increasing.

Marketing Using the Metaverse

Entertainment

               As the Metaverse is gaining attention from many people, the entertainment industry is also keen on marketing there. K-pop girl group BLACKPINK held a virtual fan signing event online in September last year using Naver ZEPETO. ZEPETO is an avatar platform that allows you to enjoy social activities with your own unique 3D avatar using face recognition, AR, and 3D technologies. ZEPETO has more than 200 million users worldwide and is in the spotlight as a global metaverse platform. Through ZEPETO, fans of BLACKPINK made their avatar and met with BLACKPINK members. More than 46 million fans of BLACKPINK participated in the fan signing event. Their ZEPETO avatar received autographs from ZEPETO of BLACKPINK members and took pictures together. The virtual fan signing event soothed fans' disappointment that they could not meet BLACKPINK in person and was as popular as offline fan signing events.

Fashion

           The fashion industry has also implemented metaverse marketing, centered around global luxury brands. Luxury brands began to promote their products using the Metaverse as it became difficult to conduct offline fashion shows due to COVID-19. In May last year, Valentino and Mark Jacobs held the 2020 S/S collection in Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing, a Nintendo video game is a representative example of the Metaverse. Game users create virtual characters themselves. Using their avatars, they decorate villages and forests and communicate with online neighbors. Valentino and Mark Jacobs gave game users a chance to download their new clothes in the game for free and put them on their characters. However, the ID code required to download clothes can only be obtained by accessing the online shopping malls of each brand. Therefore, the brand brought game users to the online mall to induce actual clothing purchases. Like this, the fashion industry uses the Metaverse to promote products and meet consumers.

The Bright Prospect of the Metaverse

              The Metaverse is still developing endlessly. This is because consumers are showing high interest in the development of innovative technologies. First of all, the media and entertainment industries are expected to develop due to the growth of the Metaverse. This is because more vivid and three-dimensional information can be delivered to viewers using AR and VR, such as "spatial journalism" and "immersive media" produced by the New York Times, the BBC, and the Guardian. The medical community is also gradually expanding medical practice education using metaverse. In May, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital held an academic conference using a Metaverse platform. Participants in the program took lectures on lung cancer surgery techniques in a virtual classroom with their personal avatars. They watched the surgical process performed by an actual doctor at the hospital through a 360-degree 8K 3D camera broadcast. Since they are gathered in a virtual space, they can feel a sense of realism as if they are observing surgery directly. Also, it was a suitable education currently because it is difficult to gather together due to COVID-19.

The Metaverse has become another living space and a new cultural space for us. Although it is difficult to gather in public due to COVID-19, we can have meetings with several people in virtual spaces through the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a three-dimensional space, which has the advantage of being easier to bond between users by making them feel like they are together in one space. In addition, people can have a new experience of enjoying performances and fashion shows in a virtual space. The Metaverse is expected to be used in various fields such as investment and non-face-to-face telemedicine in the future as well as fashion and entertainment businesses. You may expect a steeper growth of The Metaverse.