Our society is confronting a new technological revolution. This revolution will change the way we live and work. A true understanding of humanity and human beings will aid in the development of a better co-existing human-technology relationship. In this study, we attempted to foster an understanding humanity based on the perspective of Toegye Yi Hwang’s Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning, called Sunghaksipdo in Korean. From its inception, Virtual Reality has been distinctly effective at providing immersive perspective-taking experiences. However, for this project, we focused on the use of a VR-enhanced environment as an introspective tool.
To accomplish this, we constructed a transdisciplinary study by creating a Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning virtual reality environment, called Sunghaksipdo VR. The purpose of this study is to explore technological opportunities for cultivating a public understanding of Neo-Confucianism by creating “Taegukdo”, the first diagram in the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning. First, we examined three background theories: Neo-Confucianism, virtual reality for the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning, and spiritual experience. Then, with a deep understanding of these theories, we designed and developed the Sunghaksipdo VR. The major principle we followed was the HMD-based VR Environment design process. Specifically, we conducted the design process in two phases to create appropriate content, then administered a pilot user study with our first prototype. This pilot study had two main purposes: to evaluate user content comprehension and overall user experience.
In brief, the results showed that the content creation was quite successful. Most users were very satisfied with this introspective VR experience, and they also wanted to see more content related to Eastern philosophical thought through this kind of vivid visualization. When it comes to user experience, we still need to improve some navigation design features and propose better ideas to decrease VR use-associated physical fatigue.
Ultimately, we hope to use VR technology to provide users spiritual experiences.