--- title: Metaverse Seoul: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 description: Find out why Metaverse Seoul is one of the best inventions of 2022 canonical: https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-11-10T11:08:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:08:16.543Z og:title: Metaverse Seoul: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 og:description: Find out why Metaverse Seoul made this year's list og:url: https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5dacf92df84826d/698a3742457a5228d9d66ff9/best-inventions-2022-metaverse-seoul.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Metaverse Seoul: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Metaverse Seoul: The 200 Best Inventions of 2022 twitter:description: Find out why Metaverse Seoul made this year's list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5dacf92df84826d/698a3742457a5228d9d66ff9/best-inventions-2022-metaverse-seoul.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 10, 2022 # A Virtual Public Square Metaverse Seoul by Ki Mae Heussner  Seoul Metropolitan Government The City of Seoul believes the [metaverse](https://time.com/6116826/what-is-the-metaverse/ "undefined") can be harnessed for public good. Its [Metaverse Seoul](https://digital.seoul.go.kr/eng2025/smart-seoul/metaverse-seoul "undefined"), the first platform of its kind developed by a city, launched this year in beta to more than 3,000 residents who can use avatars to explore a virtual Seoul City Hall and play games in Seoul Plaza. Younger visitors can use the platform for career counseling and mentoring. The city government’s [five-year vision](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia%5Fpacific/metaverse-seoul-virtual/2021/11/27/03928120-4248-11ec-9404-50a28a88b9cd%5Fstory.html "undefined") is to build out a full-service virtual world—in which people can do things like obtain licenses and lodge service complaints—that lowers barriers to communication with residents and visitors. As a high-tech city, “we \[want\] to pre-emptively use this untapped space,” says Metaverse Seoul’s Hosun Chae. The platform is slated to open to all residents by the end of the year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/"},"headline":"A Virtual Public Square","datePublished":"2022-11-10T11:08:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:08:16.543Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/","keywords":["list","franchise","ecommerce","best inventions","Best Inventions 2022"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5dacf92df84826d/698a3742457a5228d9d66ff9/best-inventions-2022-metaverse-seoul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf5dacf92df84826d/698a3742457a5228d9d66ff9/best-inventions-2022-metaverse-seoul.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2022/6226981/metaverse-seoul/","name":"A Virtual Public Square"}}]}] ```