Despite a worldwide slump in the crypto market that has eroded investors’ confidence in this industry, the Web3 space seems to be faring well amid the crypto winter. The evidence lies in South Korea’s decision to go all in on Metaverse in 2023.

According to a recent report by South Korean local media, the country’s Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) announced earlier today that it would be investing more than 223 billion won to develop its metaverse industry. The investment, worth over $173 million, will be used to establish metaverse labs, academies, graduate schools, etc.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to develop its metaverse industry by promoting and supporting customer-facing projects. This includes platform development support, talent cultivation, corporate support, and technology development. The aim is to tap into the rapidly growing metaverse market.

Of the 223 billion won, 68 billion is allocated to a metaverse platform that will differ from the existing ones. Part of these funds will also be used to establish an artificial intelligence and metaverse disaster safety management system in the Chungcheong region of South Korea. This project was initially unveiled back in 2021.

In a bid to nurture metaverse developers, creators, and other talents in the metaverse industry, the Ministry will invest 3.5 billion won to set up Metaverse Convergence Graduate Schools in five locations. Additionally, 2.8 billion won will be invested to construct 12 metaverse labs for masters and doctoral students. Furthermore, 24.7 billion won will be invested to set up metaverse specialized facilities, including an integrated base facility for business support in the Pangyo Region, the Korea VR/AR Complex in Sangam, a regional XR production base center, a hologram content service center in Iksan and an XR device development support center, among several other projects.