Naver aims to expand metaverse presence in Thailand

Naver Z, the South Korean IT giant’s subsidiary that runs the Zepeto metaverse platform, has joined hands with Thailand’s largest telecommunication services provider to expand the virtual world’s ecosystem in the Southeast Asian nation, Naver said Thursday.

Naver Z and True Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership between the two firms at True’s Bangkok office on Wednesday.

“Through this partnership, we will look to lead Thailand into the world of metaverse by combining True group’s vast digital ecosystem and Naver Z’s metaverse expertise,” said Birathon Kasemsri, chief strategic content and public affairs officer at True.

“We will utilize Zepeto as a platform to offer futuristic on-and-offline experiences tailored for Thai customers’ lifestyle and turn the soft power of Thailand into metaverse content to share it with Zepeto’s global users,” he added.

According to Naver, there are millions of Zepeto users in Thailand with over 500,000 Thai creators active on the metaverse platform. Naver Z said Zepeto has cemented its place as the country’s most popular metaverse service among teenagers and those in their early 20s, also known as Generation Z.

The metaverse developer highlighted that Zepeto has become a platform for K-pop fans to enjoy K-pop content in the virtual world. Lisa, the Thai rapper of global K-pop girl group Blackpink, held an event at Bvlgari’s world on Zepeto on Wednesday to take pictures with her fans’ avatars.

Zepeto’s number of monthly active users surpassed 20 million as of August, according to Naver. Users on Zepeto have created over 7 million items by using Zepeto Studio and the items have been sold over 175 million times for the financial benefit of the creators.

“Through wide-ranging cooperation with True group that has a great influence in Thailand, we will accelerate the growth of Zepeto in Thailand and discover creative creators who can make up awesome worlds and items,” said Kang Hee-suk, head of business at Naver Z.

By Kan Hyeong-woo (hwkan@heraldcorp.com)