Are virtual idols the next big thing in K-content?

South Korea's booming virtual idol sector, which combines K-pop content and technology, is fueling interest on the enter-tech (entertainment and technology) market.

Virtual idols created through the development of motion capture technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are considered a turning point in the evolution of the K-pop ecosystem.

On Saturday, the five-member boy band Plave performed at a concert held at Seoul World Cup Stadium, eliciting massive shouts from about 20,000 spectators. With the stage dark and empty, fans watched the act on a big electronic screen and used cheers they prepared in advance every time the group danced.

Plave is a virtual boy band created by VLast, a Seoul-based startup comprising visual effects and game engine experts. Unlike idol fans who prefer being in the front to see an act up close, those of Plave mainly sat in the back for a better view of the boy band on the massive electronic board.

Motion capture was used to reflect the movements of real people in the characters. Sales of the group's debut EP released on Aug. 24 exceeded 200,000 units in its first week.

The performance on Saturday was the first offline concert of Plave. 

"The members danced great despite being unable early on to fully show their dance skills due to lack of technique," VLast Chief Technology Officer Lee Hyun-woo said. "We can now show live performances after resolving the problem of physical errors through technology."  

The music video for Plave’s new song reached 4.5 million views on YouTube.

In the past, cyber singers were seen only in certain videos using them as special effects, but the scope of virtual idols has expanded to offline performances.

On Saturday at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon, the six-member virtual girl group Isegye Idol held its first offline concert at the Isegye Festival. All 10,000 tickets were sold out eight minutes after sales began, with 70% of the buyers being in their teens and 20s.

Even startups are jumping on the virtual idol bandwagon because such acts are free from personal issues such as dating rumors and their appearances need no management. The AI startup Upstage is building a virtual character for MAVE:, a virtual girl group produced by Metaverse Entertainment, a subsidiary of the domestic gaming giant Netmarble. 

Another advantage of virtual idols is easy expansion of intellectual property rights (IPR). The use of characters can be directly applied to IPR-related sectors that utilize fan communities like webtoons and games.

Write to Eun-Yi Ko at koko@hankyung.com