Oh Ji-hyun Unity Evangelist "Metaverse Topic Will Continue Even After COVID-19 Ends"

2021 Asia Economy IPR Forum
Impossible Productions in the Real World, Possible in the Metaverse
Utilizing Virtual Spaces Across Various Industries

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] “Actually, even if you didn’t know about it, once you taste it, there’s no way not to get hooked. The metaverse ecosystem is exactly that.”

O Ji-hyun, a Unity evangelist, evaluated the metaverse in this way. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to live remotely, those who have experienced the convenience of virtual spaces once are expected to continue their activities within the metaverse.

Evangelist Oh gave a lecture on the transformation to the metaverse at the online ‘2021 Asia Economy IPR Forum’ held on the 20th. The metaverse is a compound word of ‘meta (transcend)’ and ‘universe,’ meaning a virtual space.

On the 20th, at the Asia Economy building in Jung-gu, Seoul, Oh Ji-hyun, Unity Evangelist, is giving a lecture on metaverse trends during the '2021 Asia Economy IPR Forum' held via online live broadcast. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He said, “Companies with many overseas operations have learned through online video conferences during COVID-19 that they can conduct business without business trips, so they are highly likely to actively use online video conferencing in the future to reduce costs and physical time,” adding, “Consumption of the metaverse will not decrease but rather increase.”

Unity, where he works, is a global real-time 3D development platform company listed on the NASDAQ in the United States. The Unity engine has been widely used mainly in games, with representative titles including ‘Pok?mon Go,’ ‘Among Us,’ ‘League of Legends: Wild Rift,’ and ‘Summoners War: Sky Arena.’

Since 3D implementation technology is an essential element in forming the metaverse ecosystem, Unity is considered one of the companies closest to the metaverse issue.

Evangelist Oh defined the metaverse in four ways: ▲Lifelogging, which digitizes life data ▲Mirror world, which reproduces the real world in virtual space ▲Augmented reality, which reveals the unseen side of reality ▲Virtual world, which creates a new world beyond the constraints of reality.

In particular, he pointed out that the advantage of the metaverse is the ability to implement effects, devices, and productions in virtual reality that cannot be done in the real world.

He explained, “Recently, Microsoft held a Cirque du Soleil performance on the virtual reality platform Altspace, where they did things like floating the Earth, which cannot be done in actual spaces,” adding, “With technology having advanced significantly compared to the past, the metaverse is gaining attention not as a substitute for the real world but as a complement.”

Currently, the metaverse is being utilized not only in games but also in various industries such as entertainment, automotive, and heavy industry. Until now, the metaverse has mainly been a platform for play, but it is evolving into a work platform.

He said, “There have been cases where home appliance exhibitions and automobile events were held through virtual spaces within web pages,” adding, “If these were offline events, they would have been crowded and complicated, but in virtual spaces, individuals could freely view products and cars, which received positive responses.”

He explained that it was especially convenient in virtual spaces because one model could be easily viewed with various options such as colors and specifications. Recently, companies like LG Electronics and Volkswagen have been making many attempts at such virtual exhibition spaces.

It can also be used at construction sites. In sites where only rebar exists without anything else, augmented reality (AR) technology allows you to preview the final construction result, enabling clear and intuitive design and construction. Also, since such decision-making can be shared in virtual spaces, there are no spatiotemporal physical constraints.

Evangelist Oh said, “We are familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and KakaoTalk, but the 10-20 age group is already playing on Naver Zepeto,” and predicted, “As they enter society and gain economic power, the metaverse ecosystem will be utilized in more diverse ways in many places in the future.”

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