[PyeongChang 2018] Korea Tourism Organization offers VR experience to Paralympic visitors

With the Paralympics kicking off Friday, visitors to South Korea can participate in a number of activities related to the Paralympics in Seoul, the Korea Tourism Organization said Friday.

Located near the tourist spot Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, the KTO’s Seoul Center consists of five floors.

Each floor offers unique activities, ranging from donning Korean traditional costumes, or hanbok, to creating delicious Korean cuisine. 

Foreigners can also experience K-pop at the center. A photo booth featuring life-size models of Hallyu stars is available for fans to take pictures. 

The fifth floor is designed for visitors to experience the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics through virtual reality technology.

Visitors can enjoy VR rides on a drone taxi, traveling through virtual space to the actual host cities of the Olympics and Paralympics in PyeongChang and Gangneung, Gangwon Province.

The VR-based video was shot with a 360-degree VR drone camera.

PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi are featured in the videos as virtual guides, providing visitors with key information related to PyeongChang. Visitors can also choose the language of captions including English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

The VR video also allows users to carry a virtual torch through a drone taxi ride and take as many pictures as they wish.

The KTO’s PyeongChang exhibition runs through March 30.

By Catherine Chung (cec82@heraldcorp.com)