Virtual Reality Technology Development in Korea

Korea is constructing its information highway scheduled for completion by 2015. However, notall this highway infrastructure is part of the national strategy. The development plan includes extensivesoftware applications for the movie, game, and multimedia industries.At the present time the Internet can represented as the sea of information (cyber space) whichcan be searched for any information, new concept, or promotion over time and space. The increasingnumber and demands of Internet users drive the development. In particular, those demands arepromoting the movement from 2D to 3D environments, as well as interactions that make the virtual, orcyber, world more closely resemble the real world.With those efforts go an increasing interest in virtual reality (VR), and there is currently muchVR research and the development of commercial VR applications taking place in Korea. In this paper Idescribe the technology trends, the organizations involved in VR research, and introduce the otherarticles in this issue of the IJVR