By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Businessmen, engineers and government officials gathered at a forum on three-dimensional (3D) technology in Seoul Thursday, to discuss the latest advancements both in the device and content areas and possible ``roadmap'' policies to develop the sector.
Representatives from Korea's leading technology companies, including electronics giants like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, shared their views with officials from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Korea Communications Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports at the "3D Convergence 2010" event at the Korea Press Center.
Experts from state-run research institutes, such as the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), were also present to discuss ways to enable the local industry to get quickly out of the gate in the 3D competition.
``The convergence between 3D technologies and various industries, both traditional and newly emerging, are a key issue in the business industry, and there is a need for more cross-industry discussions to map out future growth strategies,'' said an official from the event's organizing office.
The massive success of James Cameron's new computer graphics film, ``Avatar,'' has an envious Korean technology industry seeing its future through a pair of three-dimensional (3D) glasses.
The government recently announced plans to spend about 200 billion won (about $172 million) to spur the CG-animation and 3D motion picture industries.
The eventual goal is to make Korea Asia's biggest computer graphics production hub, with the size of the domestic market growing to 1.1 trillion won and generating about $300 million in exports by 2013, according to the plans announced by the culture ministry.
The consumer electronics industry is also making a stronger move toward products supporting stereoscopic 3D technologies. Samsung and LG, as well as other global electronics giants such as Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, unveiled a slew of 3D-enabled television products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.