KT expands VR business abroad with Malaysia Theme Park

KT Corporation (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT), South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, is expanding its virtual reality (VR) business abroad as it pioneers future markets with the world’s first 5G network and other innovative technologies.

KT launched its first overseas VR theme park, VRINITY, in the Legoland shopping mall in Johor, Malaysia, on August 28. VRINITY is a joint venture with Iskandar Innovations Sdn Bhd (IISB), an ICT company wholly owned by Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB).

The Korean telecom leader has high expectations for VRINITY, located in the special economic region of Iskandar in the southern Malaysian state Johor. The global joint venture will provide Malaysian customers with differentiated virtual reality experiences by using KT’s immersive media platforms and VR content.

“VRINITY has great significance as KT’s first overseas venture in immersive media services,” said Kim Hoon-Bae, head of KT’s New Media Business Unit. “With VRINITY serving as a beachhead for our global reach, VR platforms and content will help consolidate KT’s presence in overseas markets.”

The joint venture, located on the ground floor of the Legoland shopping mall, is well positioned to promote Korea’s VR platforms and content to prospective Asian customers. Legoland Malaysia averages 1.5 million visitors annually. Visitors include a large number of tourists from Singapore, adjacent to Johor.

Datuk Ir. Khairil Anwar Ahmad, president and CEO of IIB, said he was pleased to open the first VR theme park in Johor and provide both residents and tourists with cutting-edge immersive media services. IIB would expand collaboration with KT from immersive media services to smart energy and various other business sectors, he added.

VRINITY has VR rooms with more than 20 games that have high customer appeal in Korea, including two first-person shooters and three attractions. The _title_s available at VRINITY are among those most popular at VRIGHT, such as Special Force VR: Ace, Black Badge: Signal, Dynamic Theater, Taekwon V Reality and Tobot VR. The VR rooms also have VR Sports games with multip_layer_ function and KT’s World War Toons: VR Experience.

On the heels of VRINITY, KT plans to expand its B2B business and distribution packages that combine its VR platforms and content for sale to off-line operators in Vietnam, Indonesia and other Asian countries. It will also try to help small Korean companies with high-quality content expand to global markets.

In a separate move, KT signed a memorandum of understanding with IISB for collaboration in four new business areas, including KT Super VR, a wireless virtual reality media service with 4K resolution; smart energy projects; smart buildings; and data centers.

KT wants to parlay VRINITY’s launch into new businesses in Malaysia and strengthen its partnership with IISB. KT expects that its outstanding ICT solutions, combined with the track record of Iskandar Investment Berhad, IISB’s parent company investing in and developing properties, will forge a lasting partnership for business development and expansion.

KT introduced its first VR theme park, VRIGHT, in Sinchon – near Yonsei University in western Seoul – in March last year. The two-floor theme park has become a hotspot for young people, attracting more than 60,000 visitors with popular VR activities and attractions including Special Force VR: Universal War, a first-person shooting game, and HADO, a multi-p_layer_ AR dodge ball game.