LG Uplus provides VR entertainment service for hotel vacationers

SEOUL -- In an effort to provide entertainment for vacationers who chose to give up overseas trips due to a new coronavirus pandemic, LG Uplus (LGU+), a South Korean mobile carrier, has partnered with a luxury hotel in Seoul to offer a special holiday package featuring virtual reality headsets connected to a cloud network full of entertainment.

LGU+ said in a statement that the company has partnered with Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul to provide "2020 Summer Package," a hotel room package including a VR headset that can access 15 VR games and some 1,300 VR video content. The company will seek c cooperation with other hotel franchises to popularize its VR entertainment service.

Entertainment content using virtual reality (VR) headsets are being developed rapidly in South Korea webbed with 4G, 5G and free WiFi wireless networks. While conventional VR headsets require a computer or a device to connect to, new standalone headsets or ones that use smartphones are completely wireless, allowing users to enjoy games, films and other video content anywhere, anytime.

"Hocance," a combination of hotel and French word vacance meaning holidays, has become a travel trend in South Korea. Some people who only get a week off during their summer holiday season visit nearby hotels to relax. Hocance is popular this year due to COVID-19. About 95 percent of rooms at resorts and hotels are booked for the summer holiday season.