• Content Includes 3D Virtual Reality Education & Entertainment

Dubai, UAE: The content industry in the Republic of Korea has become one of the most popular around the world in recent years. The Korean wave, or Hallyu, refers to the increase in global popularity of Korean culture as early as the 1990’s. In the past few years alone, we have seen a significant increase of popularity in their film and music industries, with social media being at the forefront of marketing spreading viral material all over the world.

The Korea Creative Content Agency – KOCCA, is one of the main factors in the rising recognition of Korean content and looking to expand into this market within the MENA region, specifically starting with Dubai.

Established in 2009 by combining five related organizations, KOCCA is a governmental agency that oversees and coordinates the promotion of the Korean content industry. The Government of Korea continues to be a strong supporter for this industry which is generating a total sales revenue of over 100 billion USD annually since 2019. Korean film even made an enormous impact in 2020 by winning the Academy Award for Best Picture with the movie Parasite, the first ever non-English movie to win the award, and K-Pop music has entered international music charts everywhere with nearly 6 billion USD in revenue yearly.

Content plays a crucial role in achieving business and allows you to cement your position as a desired destination for customers, whether it be for entertainment or education. KOCCA highlighted their importance this year in the UAE as they participated for their first time at the 28th edition of the annual Dubai Entertainment Amusement & Leisure Exhibition - DEAL 2022, in the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Representing the entire Korean Pavilion at DEAL, KOCCA introduced diverse content from seven well-recognized Korean companies to the UAE and MENA markets displaying various Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Extended Reality content through games, educational entertainment, and interactive displays.

After expanding into regional markets within Asia, KOCCA has now expanded into eight offices around the world, including Europe and North America, with hopes to make Dubai their new headquarters in the MENA region. KOCCA supported these companies by providing the Korean Pavilion exhibit for them to participate and showcase their products and content while assisting them with proper planning and preparation to visit Dubai.

His Excellency LEE Seok-gu, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the UAE, visited the Korean Pavilion at DEAL and commended KOCCA on their steadfastness in supporting the content industry and private businesses. His excellency toured the exhibition and admired the latest Korean technologies in the field of Virtual Reality, 3D interactive software, and the innovative use of hologram imaging that gives realistic experiences.  After touring the exhibition and speaking with participants, His Excellency emphasized on the great importance these events hold when it comes to keeping a strong relationship between the UAE and Korea.

Oh, Hyun Jeon, Senior Manager in the Global Business Division for KOCCA, stated: “We were very excited for the Korean Pavilion showcasing their content this year in DEAL. It is very important for us that these companies introduce their content to the world, and it makes us very happy to see engagement with different audiences from this region. We see Dubai as an international city that is important for us to expand and hopefully establish an office here, as we see it is the best fit city to start within the MENA region.”

She continued, “KOCCA is a government agency that cares about Korean content businesses and that is why we are here, to show support and help them expand their businesses into this region. We have received multiple leads on business deals from public and private companies within the UAE, and other gulf states like Saudi Arabia, and we are just delighted to see the overwhelming interaction from everyone here.”

Koo, Kyoung Bon, Team Director of the Immersive Content Promotion Team at KOCCA, said: "I think this participation in the DEAL 2022 Korean Pavilion is a good opportunity for excellent Korean immersive content companies to build mutual partnerships with buyers in the MENA and create synergy." The immersive content market in this region has the high potential for growth, and we expect to establish a close cooperation system with local companies.”

The 7 Companies at the Korean Pavilion

LIVE K

Combining motion graphics and holograms, LIVE K hosts its own metaverse with many locations around the world and uses hologram media performance technology to restore ancient traditional history. With LIVE K, users can be anywhere in the world and meet up at the park, at a concert, or even an iconic international landmark to enjoy each other’s company.

LIVE K has also made it special to where hologram technology can be used in your home, giving you a 3D experience out of this world.

J WONDER

As a producer of broadcast programs, online streamed productions, and Virtual Reality content, J Wonder also specializes in safety and travel content. J Wonder highlighted a ground-breaking new series show featuring well-known Korean celebrities, like members from K-Pop’s musical group sensation BTS, where the series allows users to choose how the storyline plays throughout the entire show, by choosing different options displayed on the screen.

J Wonder also showcased interactive safety content, where in one interactive learning program, it teaches children what to do in case of emergencies like an accident or house fire, emphasizing the importance of education our families.

MANGROVE Inc.

As a way to show the beauty of life underwater, Mangrove showcased an extraordinary video capture of ocean life through a virtual reality system that allows you to see the detail in every curve and color.

Coral, tropical fish, sea turtles, and underwater environments are filmed using vivid 3D VR cameras to deliver the most realistic underwater adventure, where users experience it through virtual reality.

VUiDEA

Stressing on the importance of education, VUiDEA displayed an innovative and fun way to get children to learn through an interactive method. You can experience and learn about places and animals through a coloring augmented reality, virtual world experience, learning games, and holograms using 10 languages that includes Korean, Arabic, English, Dutch, and Spanish.

Victoria Productions

Also stressing on the importance of education in an advanced technological world, Victoria Productions uses the latest AR technology that utilizes both physical books and mobile applications. It is the leading educational book for learning phonics with an array of 16 different languages.

Motion Technologies

For more than 20 years, Motion Technologies has been making content creation technology and solutions based on motion capture.  This year they showcased the latest version of virtual reality gaming – XVR, which is the most advanced to date with lighter, simpler gear and more affordable for companies or individuals to purchase.

Motion capture is also used in numerous fields such as ergonomics through human body measurement, sports, evaluation of car crashes, and data collection for measuring and evaluating data of moving human bodies and objects.

ARGO Creative

ARGO develops and manufactures an integrated platform for face and body tracking recognition-based Augmented Reality (AR) contents with interactive kiosks that allow people to have fun memories while experiencing a fun and enhanced reality. ARGO products focus on facial analysis, detection, and instant scanning to complete the 3D avatar technology.

ARGO highlighted their product for children which shows various emoji expressed on the face and body on various backgrounds of augmented reality which are perceived and tracked along with the expression and movement by recognizing the face and body curvature of the individual.

The Korea Creative Content Agency – KOCCA, also stressed on the importance of continuing prosperous relations between the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates, who have built a close and continuous relationship for more than 40 years with each other through a variety of sectors like entertainment and healthcare. KOCCA also thanked the Government of the Republic of Korea for their constant support of independent content business to expand and reach greater audiences.

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For more information, please contact:
Abdel Rahman Rabie
Public Relations Executive, INDEX Media
Email: abdelrahman.rabie@index.ae