[Relay Interview①] The 'AR Biryoong' Launched at the Baseball Stadium Is a Trailer... "Building a Unified Virtual World"

Relay Interview with the Commanders of Realistic Media at the Three Major Telecom Companies
① SK Telecom Jeon Jin-su, Head of 5GX Service Division

The day of conducting business meetings via holograms like in the movie 'Kingsman' is not far off. Now, without traveling abroad, people can meet foreign teachers in virtual spaces to study languages and cheer on sports games with avatar friends. An era where virtual worlds transcending time and space become commonplace is approaching. Asia Economy met with the leaders of the three major telecom companies, who are leading strategies in immersive media such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), to hear about each company's strategy.

Jeon Jin-su, Head of SK Telecom 5GX Service Business Division, is taking a photo with a Welsh Corgi implemented in augmented reality (AR) through the 'Jump AR' application.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "'AR Biryong' is just the beginning. We will expand the existing immersive media services to build 'one virtual world.'"

Here is a person creating the 'Oasis' (the virtual world in the movie 'Ready Player One'). Jeon Jinsoo, Head of SK Telecom 5GX Service Division, who launched a giant AR dragon at the baseball stadium in time for last year's professional baseball opening and released the 'Virtual Social World' where people build relationships with others in VR, is the main figure.

Jeon recently told Asia Economy, "Since the spread of COVID-19, demand for non-face-to-face services has increased, raising attention to AR and VR services," adding, "This year, we are focusing on B2C (business-to-consumer) services so that users can enjoy immersive content comfortably anytime and anywhere."

The application 'Jump AR,' which summons cute AR animals to take pictures together and allows users to explore Deoksugung Palace through an AR map, has already surpassed its annual target this year. As of last month, the 13th month since its launch, the monthly active users (MAU) reached 605,000, and the cumulative users totaled 2.95 million. This is three times the size compared to before COVID-19. Jeon said, "Non-face-to-face is the trend," and expressed determination, "It is time to push forward further." Next year, the business model of Jump AR will be concretized and converted into a revenue-generating business.

The Virtual Social World, which is approaching its first anniversary, will soon release an upgraded version. Launched by SK Telecom in November last year, Virtual Social World is a service where users can communicate as avatars and enjoy various activities in a virtual world transcending time and space. Jeon previewed, "We are preparing to focus on social relationships so that more people can gather and interact more naturally." He emphasized, "Characters appearing in the Jump AR application will also be available in the Virtual Social World. We will create 'one world.'"

Jeon's goal is to expand all real-world activities into the virtual world, like in Steven Spielberg's sci-fi movie Ready Player One. In that movie, people make friends and enjoy various activities as avatars in the virtual world called Oasis. The previously introduced AR Biryong, Jump AR, and Virtual Social World are all starting points for this.

Jeon said, "Although the AR and VR markets are expanding, they have not grown as fast as expected," but predicted, "By 2023, the atmosphere will be such that people accept virtual worlds as a natural part of daily life." He added, "Above all, customer experience is important," and "We will gradually transfer real life into the virtual space one by one."

As a technologist, Jeon confidently stated, "SK Telecom is a global top-tier company in terms of technology." He evaluated that the company has reached a considerable level from the authoring tool 'T-real platform' for creating virtual worlds, immersive rendering technology, to 'telepresence' that synchronizes users' activities in real time.

Regarding the non-face-to-face educational content gaining attention after COVID-19, he also shared concerns as a mother. Previously praised for 'Living Fairy Tale,' which allowed families to produce TV fairy tales featuring their children's faces and voices, he said, "I am worried about the future impact of the rapid increase in digital exposure for children," emphasizing a phased approach.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.