In January, the 3D virtual girl group MAVE:, developed by Netmarble F&C’s subsidiary Metaverse Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment gained attention from K-pop fans. MAVE:’s debut music video reached 10 million views on YouTube within two weeks of its release, proving its potential as a virtual K-pop artist.

Meanwhile, various entertainment companies have started to invest in virtual human development exclusively in the K-pop industry.

ETERNITY, which debuted on March 21, 2021, is a virtual girl group made up of eleven members developed within the Deep Real AI technology of PULSE9. ISEGYE IDOL, a virtual idol with six members debuted on Dec. 17, 2021. Girl’s RE: VERSE, the audition program for debuting as a virtual girl group went on air on Jan. 2, 2023 and has been receiving positive evaluations from the public. PLAVE, another virtual idol group developed by VLAST is about to debut with their first single album.

Despite the rapid development of the industry, the majority of the public seem to be unwelcoming of virtual idols. In a survey conducted by Ewha Voice of 70 university students from Feb. 27 to March 3, 88.1 percent of respondents answered they have heard of the term “virtual idol” or “metaverse idol.” However, more than 90 percent of respondents expressed negative perception of the new wave in the K-pop industry.

Regarding the possibility of virtual idols exceeding human idols in popularity and the size of fandom, 81.4 percent doubted the potential of virtual idols in that aspect. Respondents commonly answered that the main reason why K-pop idols are popular is not only for their looks and great performance skills, but for their interaction with fans.

Human K-pop idols share stories of their life, goals, and hobbies which create a close relationship with the artists. While virtual idols may excel in looks and putting on a good performance, they cannot communicate on their own and do not have life stories to share, making it difficult to outdo human idols. The few respondents who agreed on the possibility of future virtual idols argued that since the anime industry with 2D characters possesses a huge fandom, virtual idols can become popular as well.

“Virtual humans do not exist in real life so it is difficult relate to them, their faces, dances, and stories,” said Ahn So-yeon, a junior from the Division of English Language & Literature. “I feel that this new trend of developing virtual idols is unnecessary in the K-pop industry.”

Ryu Bom, a sophomore from the Department of Political Science & International Relations who is interested in K-pop, thought the industry’s new shift to metaverse is reasonable.

“I think the reason the virtual idol industry is growing is related producing uncontroversial celebrities and saving advertising costs,” Ryu said. “When I talked to K-pop fans around me, there were many opinions that it was difficult to know whether virtual idols are targeting people who like 2D characters or people who like real human celebrities, and I strongly agree that the demand for virtual idols is unclear.”

Metaverse Entertainment, the producer of MAVE: explained the production process, technology, and future of MAVE: as in the virtual idol industry.

“The main reason for the success of MAVE: is that the technical part and the management part worked closely from the stage of planning,” the officialsaid. “MAVE: was planned not just for showing off Netmarble F&C’s technology, but to become an K-pop idol who is loved by global K-pop fans.”

MAVE: is a high-quality virtual idol created by full 3D real-time technology, implementing four members’ dynamic movements to a that which was impossible in real-time rendering, a previous technology.

Virtual idols have the advantage in that they can exist in various places at the same time and in places where humans cannot exist. Thus, they can reach out to global fans simultaneously. However, they have the disadvantage of lacking interactive communication with fans compared to human idols.

To solve the drawback of difficulty in communication, the company is preparing to use social media and making ready to multiply platforms such as real-time live streaming in the future. In particular, various ways of communication through AI voice technology which can generate, convert, and translate voices by taking advantages of virtual idols are in the preparation process.

The official explained that the area of application of virtual idols, which can be active on various new platforms, will gradually expand. Furthermore, providing new experiences and attractions to consumers, the official expected that the virtual idol industry will develop rapidly.

“Metaverse Entertainment does not consider human idols as competitors and is trying to focus on what only virtual idols can do,” the official clarified. “As we are striving for the growth of MAVE:, we hope K-pop fans around the world to experience a new kind of fun through MAVE: and MAVE: to become an icon representing K-meta-idol.”