K-pop and the metaverse?
K-pop has become a truly global pop phenomenon thanks to its unique fusion, addictive melody, smooth choreography, production value and countless attractive Korean performers who have spent years training hard in the practice room to make themselves an idol of both singing and dancing.
However, what is the relationship between K-pop, a high-heat industry, regardless of age and gender, and the metaverse?
In the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries have seen huge technological progress, including K-pop. 's advanced technology has provided many new opportunities for K-pop industry companies, especially online concerts, virtual sales signing meetings, fan meetings, etc. .
So, how did the hot Asian K-pop idols enter the meta-universe?
K-pop idols in the meta universe
Although the public has mixed opinions about the meta universe, , most celebrities have begun to realize that Web3 will become the driving force that helps their careers develop and can drive the fan economy .
Metauniverse and Web3 are very emerging concepts, but these concepts offer a lot of potential to expand the industry to new heights.
Recently, K-pop girl group Blackpink held a virtual concert with BTS through PUBG Mobile. Subsequently, Blackpink won the MTV Music Awards Best Metaverse Performance at the MTV Music Awards Ceremony.
In addition to concerts and other activities, debates and polls related to the famous K-pop group BTS were also held in the metaverse.
Recently, South Korea's Cytown Metaverse held a virtual poll and discussion, with the theme of giving BTS members a special exemption for South Korea's mandatory military service. Cytown organised a public vote on the topic on Cy-agora, a virtual forum on its metaverse platform.
This poll lasted until September 22, 2022. According to incomplete statistics, 52.78% of participants supported the provision of special exemptions to BTS members, while 47.22% opposed this idea.
More and more K-pop artists are joining the metaverse. People can interact with others through virtual images in the shared virtual world, and idols can also create closer connections with fans by creating virtual spaces . For example, the girl group Billie met his fans on SK Telecom's meta-universe platform not long ago.
According to a report released by iResearch Consulting Group in 2020, the market value of China's fan economy in 2019 exceeded US$619.2 billion (4 trillion yuan) and is expected to exceed US$861.7 billion (6 trillion yuan) in 2023.
At the same time, South Korea's K-pop industry has realized that fans spend on idol concerts, idol endorsement products and other idol peripherals is a considerable number.
Application of the meta-universe in the K-pop industry
K-pop industry is famous for some of the cutting-edge technologies it uses, including the meta-universe.
Especially during the epidemic, digital technology helps people stay in touch with others. Since offline concerts have also been put on hold due to the epidemic, these technologies are also suitable for the entertainment industry.
If you look at the metaverse from the perspective of VR, then the metaverse has become one of the feasible solutions to establish connections between idols and fans . Although these connections can only be established through the digital world, fans can also fully gain an unprecedented experience.
In terms of meta-universe applications, there are more and more projects and groups related to the meta-universe in the K-pop industry. One of the more well-known use cases of
is the Aespa combination, which is a combination with virtual corresponding objects. In addition to real members, the combination also contains 4 virtual avatars representing members.
The Korean government's enterprises and related departments are considering creating the metaverse .
This summer, South Korean banks invested in the Metauniu Asset Fund, and the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology of South Korea allocated trillions of won to cultivate technology companies including the Metauniu; millions of Koreans began investing in digital land in the Metauniu; and the Seoul Municipal Government also announced its plans to contain Metauniu elements. One of the pillars of
K-pop's entry into the meta-universe is the growth of virtual performances and performers, which seems to be a new thing, but it's already been a web singer named Adam who created and released the album "No Love Like".
has seen many digital performers in recent years, such as the popular League of Legends partner girl group K/DA, voiced by a variety of pop singers including K-pop stars, and this year's virtual girl group Eternity.
In March this year, Blackpink’s virtual avatar held a fan event on an avatar-based social media network, which was reportedly attended by 46 million users and received a digital signature from BP.
The following April, SK Telecom launched the K-pop Metaverse Project (K-pop Metaverse Project) on its AR app Jump AR, which enables fans to make their music videos based on the music and dance of the girl group Weekly.
In addition to this, Weekly also held a virtual fan meeting event in May.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology of South Korea announced that it plans to invest as much as US$7.5 billion in digital technology by 2025, of which 9% (US$2.2 billion) will be used for metacosmic-related technology .
According to a report by the London-based analysis and consulting firm GlobalData, South Korea will use part of the funding to develop its own K-pop meta-universe.
According to the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology, South Korea plans to develop 220 meta-universe companies by 2026 with the support of 40,000 industry experts, which will make South Korea the fifth largest meta-universe market in the world. The original text of
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