The United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Singapore: These are some of the countries that appear whenever the metaverse is mentioned. However, as the West delved into digital asset speculation, South Korea mapped out a plan to conquer the metaverse. With one of the most tech-savvy populations in the world, a war chest in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and a government determined to digitize the nation, South Korea has risen to master this emerging technology and appears poised to maintain its leadership in 2023 and beyond.

In February last year, the country’s Ministry of ICT and Science announced that it would invest KRW224 billion (US$190 million) in a national metaverse ecosystem. The ministry also pledged to offer active support to the sector, including…