LGU+ Launches 5G Playground 'Idleunara' at Eulji University Hospital

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Six-year-old Choi, who has been hospitalized for a long time, recently brightened up after visiting the newly established 5G playground inside the hospital. She dances with friends following the movements on a large screen and creates her own fish to place in an augmented reality (AR) aquarium.

On the 29th, LG Uplus announced that it had established a dedicated space called ‘Ideulnara’ at Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital for pediatric patients. It is a 22-pyeong (approximately 72.7 square meters) play and education space created inside the hospital so that children can nurture dreams and hope even during difficult treatment processes. Any child living in or visiting the hospital can use the playground free of charge.

Ideulnara offers over 120 immersive contents including virtual reality (VR) and AR experiences to visit desired places, enjoy storybooks, games, and coloring activities. It is a kind of edutainment facility that combines 5G technology with educational and entertainment elements.

First, in the ‘U+5G Experience Zone,’ surrounded by screens on three walls, visitors can enjoy world travel and space exploration through VR travel content. Various contents such as ▲Vivid Dance ▲AR Aquarium ▲AR Storybooks ▲VR Comics ▲Water Drop Popping Game are available. The AR storybook content was produced with donations from picture book publishers including Gilbut Children, Four Seasons, Totobook, Jaeneung Education, Ellie, Borim, Redstone, and Book Reading Bear.

In particular, in the AR Aquarium, children can add fish they have drawn themselves. By coloring the ‘fish drawing paper’ provided on-site with colored pencils and photographing it with a tablet, their own fish appears on the aquarium screen. The fish swim around the aquarium as if moving in real life, and when touched, they interact with the child by fleeing or eating. The infrared (IR) sensor touch technology applied throughout the experience zone allows the content to respond whenever children’s hands touch, providing fun as if directly touching sea turtles underwater or elephants in Africa, according to the company.

Also, in the ‘U+ Ideulnara Zone’ located to the left of the experience zone, children can enjoy English education and play together using the child-exclusive remote control called ‘Yuppi Pen.’ When children press books embedded with digital codes using the Yuppi Pen, the corresponding content plays on the TV screen. This interactive education, different from traditional learning methods, allows children to enjoy English study content from Cheongdam Language Academy, Finden, Oxford Reading Tree, and more. In addition, pediatric patients can use contents such as ▲TV Reading Books ▲Woongjin Book Club ▲English Kindergarten.

Jung Hye-yoon, LG Uplus IMC Director (Executive Director), said, “We created the ‘Ideulnara’ space so that pediatric patients can meet a bigger world through high-quality content and programs. Following Busan National University Hospital in 2019 and now Eulji University Hospital, we plan to expand the application hospitals so that more children can nurture their dreams and hopes.”

To prevent COVID-19, Ideulnara at Eulji University Hospital limits the number of people experiencing the space simultaneously. It will also be operated strictly following quarantine rules such as wearing masks and hand sanitizing.

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