Your next K-pop idol? G-Dragon's agency says it will be a robot.

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

K-robots dancing to G-Dragon tracks could be heading to your country on a world tour by the end of this year.

That is, at least, the near future imagined by Choi Yong-ho, CEO of Galaxy Corporation, the AI-powered entertainment company managing G-Dragon, which recently opened Galaxy Robot Park in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul. 

Inside the main arena, three robots take the stage, dancing to G-Dragon’s “POWER” (2024) and “HOME SWEET HOME” (2024), along with Taemin’s “Advice” (2021) and “IDEA” (2020). The world’s first robot K-pop park plans to hold three shows every weekend starting in June.

“From September, we’ll expand to more than six performances a day and stage at least 1,000 robot K-pop shows a year,” Choi told Korean media on Friday. “By the end of this year, we’re planning to take them on a world tour, which will also include far destinations like Africa, South America, and the Middle East.”

The robots were built by Unitree Robotics, the Hangzhou-based robotics company known for its boxing robots.

For now, performances will focus on artists under Galaxy Corporation, but Choi is also preparing shows built around the intellectual property of legacy artists and retro hit songs whose copyrights have already been acquired.

When asked about monetization, Choi said the park plans to generate revenue not only through K-pop performances, but also through robot-painted portraits, hands-on robot control experiences, and even robot boxing sessions.

Galaxy Corporation joined Korea’s unicorn club last year with a valuation of 1 trillion won ($670 million). Amid growing buzz around its initial public offering, executives from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq visited the company’s Seoul headquarters in March.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]