This photo provided by Hancom Inc., a South Korean software maker, shows the metaverse meeting service ‘Hancom Town.’
SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Korea Bizwire) – The financial industry is beginning to explore the possibility of businesses in the metaverse space, where digital assets could serve as a new growth engine for the banking sector.
Cyworld Z, operator of Cyworld service, announced on Thursday that the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) will enter the Cyworld metaverse platform and the bank will offer a range of financial products in the virtual market, such as an ‘IBK ‘dotori’ bank account’ which provides rewards depending on the number of acorn purchases.
Cyworld, a social media sensation among young South Koreans in the early 2000s that gained huge popularity with its iconic ‘dotori’ (acorn) cybermoney, is hoping to regain its reputation as a pioneer in the online space by attracting as many businesses as possible to its metaverse platform.
Cyworld was officially shut down last year and a consortium dubbed ‘Cyworld Z’ acquired the service in January this year. The operator expects its varied experience in virtual business activities will help it lead the pack in the emerging metaverse business market.
Cyworld Z plans to open Cyworld Hancom Town, a metaverse version of Cyworld, on Dec. 17, in line with the official reopening of the Cyworld service.
Hancom Inc. is a leading software company in South Korea, and the two parties signed a strategic partnership in September.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
