Trees Planted in Virtual Reality Are 'Equally' Affected in Wildfire-Damaged Areas

Provided by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] An event where trees planted in virtual reality are simultaneously planted in wildfire-affected areas is being held.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 21st that ahead of this year’s ‘77th Arbor Day,’ from the 21st to the 25th of this month, it will hold a non-face-to-face online tree planting event using the extended virtual world space (hereinafter Metaverse) in collaboration with Dunamu and the Korea Forest Welfare Promotion Agency.

In the event, users who enter the virtual forest (Second Forest) in Dunamu’s Metaverse ‘Second Block (2ndblock)’ collect items necessary for tree planting such as shovels and gloves according to the guidance, and when they plant one virtual tree, two real trees will be planted in wildfire-affected areas.

A total of 5,000 people can participate, with 1,000 people on a first-come, first-served basis each day. In particular, when tree planting is completed in the Metaverse, the Korea Forest Service will distribute one ‘Gurukon’ (a compound word of the Korea Forest Service character ‘Guru’ and gifticon, used as a seedling exchange voucher), allowing participants to exchange it for seedlings at 119 nationwide tree markets operated by the Forest Cooperative.

Since the types of trees sold and operating periods vary by region, it is recommended to inquire by phone before visiting.

Jeon Deok-ha, Director of the Forest Resources Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, “The core of the event is that planting a virtual tree in the Metaverse results in 10,000 real trees being planted in wildfire-affected areas,” adding, “We hope the event will serve as an opportunity for the public to participate in tree planting.”

Meanwhile, Dunamu, a blockchain and financial technology (fintech) specialized company, signed a business agreement with the Korea Forest Service to support forest restoration in wildfire-affected areas. The event is being promoted as part of Dunamu’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management activities.

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