Gwanghwa Sidae starts with 5G real-time streaming performance of Gwanghwa Pungryu

• Gwanghwa Sidae, a large-scale cultural experience project that connects the past, present and future of Gwanghwamun, will implement 8 unique immersive contents by February 22nd
• Announcing the start of the Gwanghwa Sidae with "Gwanghwa Pungryu," a 5G real-time streaming performance with top K-POP artists
• Starting with the Gwanghwa Sidae project that combines technology and culture, a consensus was established for the development of the immersive content industry in Korea

SEOUL, South Korea, Dec. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Based on 5G mobile communication technology, the Gwanghwa Sidae – Age of Light project embodies the history and future of Gwanghwamun in Seoul with live immersive content. The excitement began on the 17^th with the 5G real-time streaming performance of "Gwanghwa Pungryu."

Gwanghwa Sidae, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Hwang Hee) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (Director Jo Hyunrae, hereafter referred to as KOCCA), is a project for continuing the "cultivation of leading immersive content" of the three major innovation strategies for the content industry announced by the government on September 17, 2019 and the Digital New Deal cultural contents industry strategy announced on September 24, 2020.

Under the theme of "5G lights the way to a new era," Gwanghwa Sidae means content that is as fast as light (low latency, ultra-high-speed) and healed by warm light (super-connected). In the Gwanghwamun area, 8 types of immersive contents are being presented that combine cultural and tourism contents, 5G communication, and the latest technology.

The Korean government, which has been actively supporting the growth of the digital content ecosystem by earmarking investments through 2025 of more than 330 billion won to grow immersive content, a new economic growth engine, and to nurture 1,400 immersive technology specialists, plans to take the lead in introducing new content that harmonizes the history, culture, and immersive technology of the Gwanghwamun area.

Gwanghwa Sidae begins with "Gwanghwa Pungryu," a 5G real-time streaming performance with top K-POP artists such as PSY

"Gwanghwa Pungryu," the first content of Gwanghwa Sidae released on the 17^th, was planned with two themes as a real-time live streaming performance applied with AR, XR and 5G communication technology. In "Gwanghwa Pungryu Part 1. 5G Real-Time Busking Performance," a remote collaboration stage was performed between musicians located in famous tourist attractions in Korea through real-time connection using 5G communication technology. The performance also featured a collaboration stage between famous Korean dance crew "1MILLION" and an indie band "Nerd Connection" and a crossover group of traditional Korean music and world folk music. This stage was implemented as a media facade at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul, adding a sense of realism by connecting musicians located in each region in real time using 5G communication technology. Subsequently, "Gwanghwa Pungryu Part 2.  Online XR Live Performance" was held. The performance by top K-POP artists including "PSY", "THE BOYZ", and "AOMG" (Korea’s top hip hop crew) performed spectacular performances against the backdrop of a virtual Gwanghwamun based on Unreal Engine, receiving cheers from the public. This performance has significance as Korea’s first "virtual live performance" using XR technology. The present and future Gwanghwamun area was implemented as a virtual stage, and live performances were held online to communicate with viewers in real time.

The Gwanghwamun area in Seoul is becoming a space for large-scale cultural experience… Gwanghwa Sidae will sequentially release 8 unique types of immersive content through February 2022

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, which organizes the Gwanghwa Sidae project, started with "Gwanghwa Pungryu," a 5G-powered real-time streaming performance unveiled on the 17^th that will be presented in four rounds in consideration of the characteristics of each content "Gwanghwa Won," an immersive media art exhibition, in early January, and "Gwanghwa In," a hologram AI information, and in early February "Gwanghwa Jeoncha," an immersive MR attraction, "Gwanghwa Su," a real-time big data crawling-based AR public monument, "Gwanghwa Dam," a location-based immersive mission tour game, "Gwanghwa Gyeong," a location-based AR edutainment, and "Gwanghwa Byeokhwa," a huge media art wall at the end of February.

Gwanghwa Sidae, which begins in a space called Gwanghwamun, has served as the center of Korean history, politics, culture, and arts. This large-scale cultural space offers the public the opportunity to directly experience cultural contents combined with cutting-edge immersive technology. It is expected to attract the interest and response of enthusiastic crowds.

First, "Gwanghwa Won," which is scheduled to be unveiled in early January, is a garden of light that embodies the beautiful natural scenery of Korea with image processing artwork and has media art with the themes of "connection, healing, emptiness, and filling." "Gwanghwa Won," located in the Metro Museum of Art located in Gyeongbokgung Station, is a garden of light that embodies the beautiful natural scenery of Korea with image processing artwork and has media art with the themes of "connection, healing, emptiness, and filling." The immersive media art space applied to Gwanghwa Won and the visual art that displays each theme provides people with a new rest and healing venue in the city center.

"Gwanghwa In," which will be unveiled at the same time, is a space where deep learning-based AI technology is concentrated. "Gwanghwa In" is located in the Metro Museum of Art Building 2 located in Gyeongbokgung Station and provides information on cultural heritages and tourist attractions around Gwanghwamun through the guidance of human AI. Also, the visual content filmed with the 3D volumetric technique transcends time and space, enabling a special experience as if being in one space with a real person. Human AI is a guide for Gwanghwa Sidae, which was realized as a hologram after video/voice synthesis filming and big data deep learning, and is a Human AI model, and the group SHINee’s Minho, Actor Lee Seung-jun, and Celebrity Maria appeared unexpectedly, raising expectations from Korean Wave fans at home and abroad.

Contents scheduled to be unveiled in early February are "Gwanghwa Jeoncha," "Gwanghwa Su," "Gwanghwa Dam," and "Gwanghwa Gyeong."

"Gwanghwa Jeoncha," an entertainment content that combines a panoramic screen and 4D attractions, has been prepared in Sejongno Park. Based on a ride-on simulator, the Gwanghwa Jeoncha shows dynamic and realistic video content, freely crossing the past, present, and future of Gwanghwamun Square as well as imaginary spaces, including an underwater world and space world.

"Gwanghwa Su," located in the large plaza of Seoul Shinmun, is a participatory public sculpture content that applies AR and Big Data technology to a symbolic sculpture that embodies the "Time-Space-Human Connection," the main theme of Gwanghwa Sidae. The branches of AR trees that reflect the global SNS Big Data in real time are spread out beautifully on a physical sculpture reminiscent of the branches of a tree, and they can be enjoyed through smartphones, kiosks, and AR glasses. This art sculpture communicates and responds to people around the world through 5G and Big Data technology and direct on-site participation is available.

"Gwanghwa Dam," which will be unveiled along with this, is a mission tour game in which you will be able to enjoy exploring the Gwanghwamun area, and it is a gamification content with a VPS solution for the first time for an AR game. "Gwanghwa Dam" consists of six main episodes that can be enjoyed while meandering through the Gwanghwamun area and provides a new experience in the familiar spaces of Gwanghwamun, Seoul City Hall Plaza, Cheonggyecheon, and Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. In particular, members of the K-pop idol group SuperM appear as characters, adding cuteness and fun. "Gwanghwa Dam" not only contains an interesting interpretation of the changes that the latest technology like VPS will bring to the content industry, but it is also expected to be an easy and fun way to experience unfamiliar new technologies through games.

"Gwanghwa Gyeong" is an edutainment content using location-based AR content technology. It can be enjoyed using a smartphone at major locations in Gwanghwamun and provides AR content with historical information related to each place. Performances and storytelling are prepared according to each location at the Woldae site in Gwanghwamun, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Popular characters and global K-pop celebrities were filmed using volumetric techniques and appear in AR.

"Gwanghwa Byeokhwa," which will be unveiled at the end of February, is expected to recreate the exterior wall of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History into a huge media art wall. "Gwanghwa Byeokhwa" is a public media art consisting of a three-dimensional anamorphic video that utilizes the large L-shaped LED screen and a web page to allow people to interact with the content displayed on the wall in real time, which is sure to catch visitor’s attention.

An official from the organizer said, "Gwanghwa Sidae is the center of history, culture and art in Korea, and we are proud that the Gwanghwa Sidae serves as a milestone in creating a future path for the cultural contents industry by combining the latest technology and rich stories in this highly symbolic and historical space of Gwanghwamun," and added, "We will continue to do our best to present projects that bring new joy to many people and contribute to the domestic content industry."