Posted by: Lauren Barnes  |  Posted on: March 7th, 2025

Field Trip to Yeosu Islands for the Digital Twin Project, Meta Island 

Jung In Jung, Abertay University 

The Events and Activities supported 

This project aimed to develop a long-term international research collaboration between Abertay University, and two South Korean partner institutions, Chonnam National University (CNU), and Dong-Ah Institute Media and Arts (DIMA). The collaboration was focused on uncovering new approaches to art and cultural content creation that leverage the immersive and interactive capabilities of Digital Twin technology. CNU and DIMA have initiated the project called Mata Island in 2023 – a digital Twin version of Yeosu islands in South Korea – to attract visitors, spread the islands’ unique cultural and heritage, and create entertainment value through a more accessible digital platform for mainlanders to exhibit at the World Island Expo in Yeosu in 2026. This digital platform development and its potential high impact resonated very well with Abertay’s strategic planning for the diversification of its game technology into other areas. Therefore, this partnership sought ways to use this opportunity to do preliminary research for a longterm partnership. To make it happen, it was inevitable to visit Yeosu for a field trip to investigate the unique island culture and ecosystem to find what could be aligned with our mutual aim to further develop this project together. British Korean Society grant helped to make it possible to realise the field trip, not only to visit Yeosu and CNU, but also to visit the company SCANBE in Seoul, who are partnered with CNU and DIMA with their digital scanning technology.  

Activities undertaken 

First, I visited CNU in Yeosu to meet the professors and their postgraduate students who created the project Meta Island. It was very inspiring to learn more about their ideas behind and see prototypes created through the project competition. The CNU and DIMA professors and I explored possible ways to further collaborate in the future, including what kind of funding opportunities were available both from South Korea and the UK governments.
 

The islands we chose to visit were Jang-Do and Nang-Do. Jang-Do was an interesting island as it was very accessible from the mainland, connected with a walkable bridge. Visitors had to check the times for tides as the bridge submerges when it’s high tide. The island was redeveloped by the GS Caltex group to provide art and cultural contents to
the locals and support artists by providing artist residency studios. It showed how much the location and the scenery of Yeosu deeply inspire artists and creative communities. Nang-Do was a little further away from the city centre but also not so difficult to reach. Nang-Do still kept its natural beauty. It was possible to see some local fishermen and traditional houses at the entrance of the island, which were unique and memorable. Finally, I visited the company SCANBE in Seoul. The company partnered with CNU and DIMA to scan the Yeosu islands using drones. It was a very meaningful time to learn about their scanning technology in various scales. The CEO showed me different projects SCANBE participated in beyond the Meta Island project.  

Summary of Achievements: 

The CNU and DIMA professors and I had been co-writing a book based on the Meta Island project, as well as the potential of how this digital twin technology can be used for art and cultural content. When I visited them, the publication was finally complete, and available to collect.

When I visited Yeosu Islands, it was possible to see how the unique geographical cultural heritage could inspire CNU and DIMA students to develop Metaverse versions of the islands in their digital projects. The SCANBE’s projects and the conversation with the CEO provided me great insights on how scanning technology can be used to preserve cultural heritage, especially when it’s related to geography and history. It inspired me how to bring a similar model to Scotland, where Abertay University is located, as Scotland also has many isles which need to be preserved and connected culturally. It showed a potential to connect isolated regions and cultures to more people and make them more accessible to new generations.

Future Plans: 

We are currently looking at possible ways to keep this partnership with the two South Korean Universities, CNU and DIMA. Abertay University is expanding our Transnational Education (TNE) programme. This could be a possible opportunity to find mutual online learning programmes to connect with CNU and DIMA. Also, Abertay is part of the AHRC-funded programme CoSTAR, which will open possibilities to make collaboration in the near future. However, the visit also made us realise that it might not be so easy to expand the Meta Island project itself to be an international collaboration as it involved many South Korean local and government organisations and vice versa. Therefore, we are open to other ways to continue this partnership within the same domain of interests (digital twin, art and cultural contents) in the future as well.

  Grants