Virtual Celebrities of South Korea
Avatars, AI characters, 3Ds and virtual singers are getting attention in South Korea these days. The virtual pop starts with Adam in South Korea in 1996.
Adam
– The first virtual singer in Korea was Adam, a cyber singer created by IT company Adam Soft.
– Adam released two full length albums that sold about 200,000 units, however the tech back then was not as advanced as today and there were many limitations in what Adam could do.
aespa
– SM Entertainment’s girl group aespa created themselves a virtual world named KWANGYA and virtual characters, ae-aespa.
– æ-æspa are the avatars of girl group aespa.
– They are living on the planet KWANGYA and they have hidden members ae-aespa.
– They have an AI system that helps the avatars of aespa appear in the real world, named Naevis. Naevis will make her solo debut soon.
APOKI
– APOKI is a virtual artist, singer, dancer, and YouTuber under VV Entertainment.
– Due to her cute and lovely appearance, Apoki also captured the interests of K-pop fans, establishing growing fandom.
Eternity
– Eternity is an AI project girl group under AiA and Pulse9.
– Eternity is the first all virtual deep-learning “real AI” girl group.
– The concept of the group focuses on communication with humans. The red flower, an energy source of the planet AIA, which has parallel time to the Earth, begins with a rather unique setting when one day its happy life was broken after it withers.
Han YuA
– Han YuA is a virtual AI influencer, YouTuber, model and Kpop idol under YG KPlus, YG’s modeling agency.
– Han YuA was first created in 2021 by Smilegate as a character of a VR game. Giantstep, the company that created aespa’s AIs, turned Han YuA into an AI as well.
Hip-Kongz
– Brave Entertainment, announced that it launched a virtual singer named Hip-Kongz. He was born on Dec. 12, 2021, and introduces that he is 178cm tall and weighs 225kg.
– Hip-Kongz also has a fictional backstory: the non-fungible token (NFT) character named Meta Kongz debuts as a singer thanks to producer Brave Brothers.
– The virtual singer’s debut song “Bam,” which means “night” in Korean, sings about feeling small and lonely in the middle of the night.
K/DA
– K/DA is a virtual K-Pop girl group under Riot Games and are also in the game created by Riot Games known as League of Legends.
– Ahri is Miyeon and Akali is Soyeon of (G)I-DLE.
LU
– LULUPOP is a 3D digital girl artist (fashion doll) under SAMG Entertainment, a South Korean animation studio.
– LU debuted on May 24, 2021 with the digital single ‘Find You’ in collaboration with PURPLE KISS.
REAH
– Reah Keem is a virtual model introduced by Korean conglomerate LG Electronics in January 2021.
– Her name means “child from the future”.
– She is a 23-year-old Seoulite who aspires to be a singer-songwriter and DJ.
– She even has her own SoundCloud account!
– Currently, Rhea is building her career as a model for LG Electronics by releasing photos and doing interviews for fashion magazines.
– Her plans about being an idol is currently unknown.
ROZY
– ROZY is a popular virtual influencer.
– Due to her idol-like visual and dancing skills, Rozy also received much love from Koreans.
RUI
– Rui is a virtual YouTuber with a channel named RuiCovery where she uploads dance covers and vlogs from time to time as well.
– Rui is made with deep-learning AI technology.
– Face data of real people is used to synthesize expressions and movement to create a very natural and realistic effect.
– She’s posting vocal and dance covers on YouTube.
SUPERKIND
– SUPERKIND is a boy group under Deep Studio Entertainment.
– Two of their members Saejin and Seung are an AIs.
TRUE DAMAGE
– TRUE DAMAGE is a virtual League of Legends co-ed group under Riot Games.
– They are also the characters in the game created by Riot Games known as League of Legends.
– Akali is Soyeon of (G)I-DLE.
YUNA
– Entertainment company Humap Contents debuted its first virtual singer Yuna last year.
– Yuna, who debuted with the track, “Kiss Me,” released a new song titled, “Lonely” in January and is planned to hold a metaverse concert in March.
SIRA
– Sira (시라) is a virtual Kpop dancer created by EVR Studio.
– She was planned to debut as a member of virtual Kpop group, ORDO but their debut plans are currently unknown.
– She released a dance cover one year ago.
Sagong_ee_ho
– SAGONG_EE_HO is a 3-member group based on metaverse.
– The group, which consists of three members OREER.C, XOONY, and ITAEWON PARK, showed off the so-called “Digital from Analog” worldview, which refers to “the external manifestation of digital and the heart of analog.”
– They made their debut with their 1st single ‘Wake Up’ on June 11, 2022.
MAVE:
– Metaverse Entertainment established by Netmarble F&C is reportedly planning a four-member virtual girl group project ‘메이브(MAVE:)’
– The virtual girl group project will be carried out in collaboration with Kakao Entertainment.
– They revealed their plans about creating an AI girl group in 2023 consisting of Marty, Zena, Tyra, and Siu.
BLACKPINK
– They are not actually virtual idols but recently, they collaborated with PUBG Mobile and released a song called “Ready For Love“ with a music video with using avatars of themselves.
– In their single for PUBG Mobile, they use AI concept pictures & virtual music video.
– They also made a virtual concert in collaboration with PUBG, named “The Virtual” with using their avatars.
– They also won “Best Metaverse Performance” in VMAs 2022 with their metaverse ‘THE VIRTUAL’ performance.
V / Project V
– V (브이) is an upcoming five-member AI girl group under GBK Entertainment.
– On September 15, 2020 the CEO of GBK Entertainment, Kim Gyee Bong, uploaded a highlight medley for the debut album for VR AI girl group V. The highlight included five songs. The first four songs (“CAT!”, “Fix U”, title track “First Love”, and “My Mom Will Scold Me”) were sung by Boran, a soloist formerly under GBK Entertainment. The final song (“My Red Face”) was the intended debut song of GBK Entertainment’s pre-debut disbanded girl group Maskot.
– On December 21, 2021 a video was uploaded to the company’s channel of the first member Duna.
– The group is not active since revealing Duna.
– Everything about them has been removed.
BTS
– They are not actually virtual idols but recently, they collaborated with Minecraft and they held a mini concert with two of their songs: Butter and Permission To Dance!
– They even nominated for “Best Metaverse Performance” on VMAs 2022.
– They also joined Coldplay’s concert as holograms.
– The VFX team behind the project, led by Ingenuity Studios, turned to volumetric video. Using a volumetric capture rig consisting of 108 cameras with 360-degree capabilities, each performer was filmed individually, with Coldplay in Spain and BTS in South Korea.
ANA
– PUBG Mobile creator Krafton has unveiled the company’s first-ever virtual human powered by hyperrealism, rigging, and deep learning. The company calls her Ana.
– ANA is designed to engage a global audience and help establish KRAFTON’s Web 3.0 ecosystem.
– ANA is the first virtual human introduced by KRAFTON since its initial plan was revealed this past February through a technical demonstration.
– She released her first music video “Shine Bright” on September 19, 2022.
Q.O.S
– Actually they’re not a virtual idols but real life people.
– The 3D virtual character of the girl group QOS was revealed on the Royal Streamer live broadcast.
– In the broadcast, the 3D virtual characters of each member drew attention by covering the girl group IVE’s song ‘ELEVEN’ in their own color.
– Some parts of the song are composed of new choreography that is different from the original song, and fun reactions such as “fresh”, “strange”, and “Q.O.S who are vicariously satisfied through the character” continued from fans.
– The QOS members said, “From now on, we will make a broadcast that not only sings through the Royal Streamer broadcast, but also communicates with fans through daily life and small stories.” said.
Saena
ㅡ She is YG PLUS’ virtual artist.
ㅡ She and Ayan made their debut to K-Wave fans around the world for the first time at ‘Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo 2022, (Hanoi∙KBEE) as artists of the NVP project developed by YG PLUS.
ㅡ He will provide special content to the people all around the world and allow them to experience something new.
ㅡ In an age when IP has risen to great importance, YG PLUS has become a content hub providing various content. YG PLUS’s NVP Project will propose new and fun content with the theme “Whoever Belong With,” meaning anyone can enjoy and participate in the content through their campaign with virtual humans Sae Na and Ayan as their models.
Ayan
ㅡ He is YG PLUS’ virtual artist.
ㅡ He and Saena made their debut to K-Wave fans around the world for the first time at ‘Korea Brand & Entertainment Expo 2022, (Hanoi∙KBEE) as artists of the NVP project developed by YG PLUS.
ㅡ He will provide special content to the people all around the world and allow them to experience something new.
ㅡ In an age when IP has risen to great importance, YG PLUS has become a content hub providing various content. YG PLUS’s NVP Project will propose new and fun content with the theme “Whoever Belong With,” meaning anyone can enjoy and participate in the content through their campaign with virtual humans Sae Na and Ayan as their models.
RINA
– RINA (리나) is a virtual artist and influencer in Korea under Metaverse Entertainment and Sublime.
– According to her profile on Metaverse Entertainment website, her hobbies are songwriting, traveling and DJing.
ISEGYE IDOL
– ISEGYE IDOL (이세계아이돌) is a virtual Kpop girl group by WAK Entertainment.
– On December 17, 2021, they officially debuted by releasing the digital single album RE:WIND.
– The members are: INE, Jingburger, Lilpa, Jururu, Gosegu and Viichan & they are all Twitch streamers.
KIMITE
– Kimite (귀미테) was a one time virtual project group created for the semi-finals of GIRL’S RE:VERSE, consisting of Dopamine, Rose, Keuang, and Muneo. Chonky Cat was a member but did not compete in the semi-finals due to leaving the show for health reasons, although she is present in their music video.
– They performed GEE by Girls’ Generation for the semi-finals and received three voting benefits.
– The team was created by Dopamine to be an all-rounder group.
MOTAEBARBIE
– MotaeBarbie (모태바비) was a one time virtual project group created for the semi-finals of GIRL’S RE:VERSE, consisting of Nemo, Ruby, Barim and Seoritae.
– They performed White by Fin.K.L for the semi-finals.
– The team was created by Ruby to be a visual group.
LUNA SNOW
– Luna Snow (루나 스노우) is a virtual Kpop idol from Marvel Future Fight. Her real name is Seolhee (설희).
– She is Korean pop singer and Super Hero who uses her ice-manipulation powers to protect people in the Pacific Rim and across the World.
– She uses real idol voices, but her current singing VA is Luna of f(x).
LECHAT
– LECHAT (르샤) is a virtual YouTuber.
– She is the product of a creative collective effort and a passion for innovation in the music industry.
– She is friends and a fan of APOKI.
LUCY
– Lucy (루시) is a virtual influencer who has frequently worked with the Korean brand conglomerate Lotte.
– She has recently expanded into the NFT industry.
THEO
– Theo is a half-Brazilian half-Korean virtual influencer who lives in Seoul.
– He was created by VHP, a start-up founded by five students at Sogang University, in October, 2021.
– He is bilingual and posts captions in both Portuguese and Korean, uniting fans from across the globe.
SuA
– SuA (수아) is a virtual influencer from Seoul, South Korea.
– She has recently worked with the skincare brand Papa Recipe, WAAC golf and OTR colored contact lenses.
Nina
– Nina (니나) is a virtual girl from another world mysteriously transported into ours.
– She has a pet robot named Avo who accompanies her.
WooJu
– Wooju (우주) is a Korean virtual human and student.
– He was born in 2001, is 21 years old, and is a college student at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Kamelo University.
– He has a younger sister named Eunha.
Ho & Gon & Heil
– Ho, Gon and Heil are a South Korean virtual family from LOCUS X.
– They are all models.
– Virtual Family HOGONHEIL is the three siblings, HO and GON are twin brothers, and HEIL is their older sister.
– The sky ‘HO’ the land ‘GON’, and the sun rises above the sea ‘HEIL’, their eyes are colored with the meaning of their names.
– They reflect the image of Gen Z who want to practice correct behavior based on their awareness of social issues and care about environmental concerns.
Ryu-ID
– RYU-ID (류이드) is a multi-persona, virtual human who can constantly create new selves through various inner extensions from LOCUS X.
– He is a virtual human of infinite possibilities to be everything you know or anything you don’t have on earth.
Project G
– Project G is an upcoming virtual human project of Locus X.
– They revealed 3 virtual humans so far.
Ryuzy
– Ryuzy (류지) is the first South Korean virtual villain.
– Ryuzy ROZY‘s new ego fallen to the dark side by data error
– Ryuzy is genderless because Ryuzy doesn’t want to be defined as a human standard.
Eunha
– Eunha (은하) is a South Korean virtual human and student.
– She has an older brother named WooJu.
– She was born in 2003 and is a 19-year-old high school senior.
– She is drawing a lot of attention by revealing her test ticket on her Instagram account.
Sori
– SORI is a full 3D computer graphics-based virtual human being jointly developed by Naver, a domestic search engine, and GiantStep, a VFX company, based on a real-time engine.
– She is said to be a 24-year-old personality who is interested in the beauty field, and appeared at the launch show of the NARS new product at Naver Shopping Live.
– As for the background of the name Sol, she said, “I came to call it Sol to differentiate myself from other virtual humans.”
– She explained, “It’s because when you call your name, you pronounce it as ‘sori’.”
– It is said that deepfake technology can produce richer expression and natural movements than virtual humans that synthesize only the face part of the human model.
OVADOZU
– OVADOZU appeared as a backup dancer for Apoki, a female K-pop artist from VV Entertainment
– They appeared in most of the videos covered by Apoki, and has since opened YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
– For reference, they appear like a comet in a dancer fight regularly held by the Aon City Dancer Association and wins the grand prize, and is known as a famous dancer duo. APOKI has proposed group activities and has a worldview of starting to work with cars that were interested in working on Earth.
SE:A
– She is a virtual YouTuber and streamer run by Smilegate.
– At first, she was a virtual YouTuber to promote the Smilegate game Epic Seven,
– Since season 2, members and staff of SE:A Story have been directly mentioned and appeared, showing great differences from existing virtual YouTubers.
– SE:A is a virtual YouTuber, but she is delivering a touch of hope to those who are alienated through “good influence” in real life.
– All YouTube & Twitch broadcasting revenue is said to be donated to needy neighbors and those in need.
RINA
– Netmarble’s digital human “Rina” has been unveiled.
– “Rina” is a virtual influencer produced by Metabus Entertainment, founded by Netmarble F&C, a subsidiary of Netmarble.
– She made a surprise appearance in the release video of Netmarble’s new game ‘Over Prime’ test schedule, and introduced the game by dancing with ‘Over Prime’ characters in the video.
– She is currently active on SNS through Instagram and TikTok, and signed an exclusive contract with a company to which actor Song Kang-ho and singer Rain belong, signaling full-fledged activities in the entertainment industry.
WINNI
– Krafton unveiled ‘WINNI’, a virtual human influencer in charge of publicity for PUBG Mobile.
– Winnie is derived from the English word ‘Win’, which means victory, and has the meaning of ‘friend of peace’.
– It was created as a collaboration between Krafton and the virtual influencer production company Neo ND X.
– Winnie is a 21-year-old engineering college student who likes games, animation, dance and sports. She is interested in various fields and likes to communicate with people.
RIA
– Ria is a virtual human and virtual office worker who began her activities in December 2021, and her title is the marketing team leader of Virtual influencer production company Neo Entertainment.
– She says it was implemented as Neo Enter DX’s artificial intelligence technology and exists as a virtual influencer with a new appearance made with AI technology in the virtual world.
– She works on Instagram and Naver blogs in South Korea to reveal the lives of natural office workers.
– On January 20, 2022, a virtual human showed host live-commerce streaming broadcast was conducted on a commerce platform called Naver Shopping Live.
MARIE
– Marie, a virtual human, who was first unveiled in November 2021 at “NFT Busan,” received great attention from major media as her NFT photo was auctioned off for 4 million won.
-§She was created by the live-action virtual human/NFT company Door Open and collaborated with MCN Kiwi Lab, which successfully led Korean celebrities’ TikTok channels as the first step in SNS activities.
– She is said that TikTok will showcase content that will captivate the MZ generation.
YT (Young Twenty)
– Young Twenty (YT) is the first generation Z virtual human created by Shinsegae Group and Pulse Nine, a graphic company.
– As the meaning of the name “Eternal 20-year-old” suggests, YT is a character with the sensibility of a free-spirited 20-year-old.
– YT has a popping lifestyle that lives with its robot pet “Killer” and has a trendy fashion sense.
– She is said to be interested in Seoul, young people, and public interest activities.
– Thanks to its free-spirited fashion and pleasant lifestyle, it has emerged as a hot icon as soon as it appears and is conducting advertisements for various brands.
RORA
– RORA is a virtual human living in Busan, South Korea. With the worldview of a 21-year-old woman, she is active on Instagram focusing on beauty and fashion content.
– RORA was created by Connect-vi, which produces virtual humans and products using digital technologies such as 3D modeling and AI deep learning.
– In January 2022, she started his activities as a hair model by participating in the “Hair Salon Trend 2022” event held in Lotte Signiel, Seoul, promoting the Wish Rocket Collection of the beauty brand “Hera” or filming a shopping mall model.
– She is said that it plans to enter Naver’s metaverse platform “ZEPETO” and produce and sell virtual clothes here in the future. It is said that it will also collaborate with various clothing and cosmetics brands.
Jang Woori
– Jang Woori (장우리) is a virtual model under LSACMODEL.
– She is a virtual human developed by Megazone’s video division ‘Indigo’ in collaboration with Elsac Management.
– It is characterized by being produced with full 3D modeling as a growth type character, not a complete type.
Van:D
– Virtual human Van:D is a name that contains “Virtual And” and “Digital” with a smiling emoticon, “:D,” and also means “lighting the world like fireflies.”
– She has recently been recruited by entertainment agency Andmark and has started her career in earnest.
– Recently, she was appointed as a public relations ambassador for the Gyeonggi Provincial Government for the first time as a virtual human, and plans to carry out activities on various platforms.
– It is a virtual human developed based on the advanced computer graphics technology (CG) possessed by VA Corporation, a one-stop-metabus platform company.
FE:VERSE
– FE:VERSE (피버스) is a five-member virtual girl group under Kakao Entertainment.
– They were formed through the survival show GIRL’S RE:VERSE.
– Their debut date is currently unknown.
PLAVE
– PLAVE (플레이브) is a virtual five-member boy group under VLAST.
– They made their debut on March 12, 2023 with their single album “Asterum”.
– Their name is a combination of the words “Play” and “Rêve” and means that they are creating a new world to achieve their dreams.
That’s One
– They are a 4-member virtual streamer group, consisting of: Kimtoki, Miggang, Taroro and Saku.
– They are under Bean Entertainment.
– On September 6, 2023 they are set to release the single “MAFIA” written by Ban Seolhee from Girls2000.
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