National Heritage Experience Center Comes to Hospitals

National Heritage Administration, Korea Heritage Agency to Run "COMES 01"
VR Films, AI Docent Spaces, and More

The National Heritage Administration and the Korea Heritage Agency announced on October 12 that they will run “National Heritage Digital Companions COMES 01” at Wonju Severance Christian Hospital (October 12-16), Dong-A University Hospital in Busan (October 26-30), and Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital (November 2-6).

Example screen of an AI docent / National Heritage Administration.

This digital heritage experience center is for patients, their caregivers, and hospital visitors. As part of the “National Heritage Digital Companions” initiative to improve digital welfare for vulnerable groups, it offers multisensory experiences, character events, and performances during waiting times. COMES 01 combines a Latin word meaning “companion” with the digits 0 and 1, which symbolize the digital world. The name conveys the aim of connecting people with national heritage through digital technology.

The digital experience zone showcases national heritage through virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and multimedia. Visitors can also sit in comfortable chairs and watch two VR films: “The Poet’s Room,” about the life and poetry of Yun Dong-ju, and “Danijeon: The Story of the Portrait of a Beauty,” about Shin Yun-bok’s genre paintings and pansori.

In the sensory experience zone, visitors can make key chains using a gold-leaf craft technique. They can also feel the forms and features of national heritage with their fingertips using tactile books, national heritage models, and sensory cards.

Dong-A University Hospital in Busan and Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital will also feature AI docent spaces. Visitors can listen to stories about each of the five royal palaces and ask questions by voice to get answers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.