Changdeok Palace to welcome guests with 3D AR technology

Changdeok Palace, a World Heritage Site in South Korea designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), can now be enjoyed worldwide with 3D augmented reality (AR) technology. SK Telecom announced on Monday that the company has implemented 5G AR technology for the palace in cooperation with the Cultural Heritage Administration and Google Korea.

Visitors to Changdeok Palace can enjoy various AR content across the site of the palace by installing the “Changdeok ARirang” app on their 5G smartphones from today. For example, when visitors launch the application facing the Geumcheon bridge, Haechi, an imaginary creature from South Korean legends, will appear to provide a guide. The Secret Garden, to which visitors’ access is restricted, can be also viewed in high-definition 360-degree images using virtual reality technology.

The app users can also watch the performance of “Chunaengmu,” a type of royal court dance, in front of Nakseonjae Hall. SK Telecom plans to offer free 5G smartphone rental service at the palace until the end of this year. The “Changdeok ARirang at Home” service, which allows anybody across the world can view the palace in 3D images, will be launched next month.

“Changdeok ARirang” is the first application of 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) technology on the B2C service by SK Telecom. MEC refers to a data processing technology of a smartphone or a nearby server, rather than going through a central server. The data download speed within Changdeok Palace has been improved by about 60 percent thanks to this technology.


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com