In South Korea, a women got an opportunity of meeting her deceased child via VR (virtual reality) appliance.
South Korean TV broadcaster MBC recently aired a Korean language documentary that centers on a family’s loss of their young daughter, seven-year-old Nayeon. In 2016, using the power of photogrammetry, motion capture, and virtual reality, the Munhwa company recreated Nayeon for one last goodbye with the family’s mother, Ji-sung, in eight months.
Donning an HTC Vive Pro, Vive trackers, and wireless adapter, Ji-sung revisits a virtual version of a park the family would frequent. Nayeon giggles, and cautiously asks her mom if she is afraid. She wonders why it is cold outside. Touching hands, they are both lifted to a heavenly realm.The mother and the virtual simulacrum experience more happy memories together. It is Nayeon’s birthday, and honey rice sweets, a birthday cake, and her favorite seaweed soup are all there. Ji-sung puts her down to bed for a nap, and plays with her hair as Nayeon precociously bobbles around. Whether conjuring virtual doppelgangers of lost loved ones may one day be considered an unnecessary re-traumatization, or a valid coping mechanism to help overcome tragedy, we just cannot say for now.