Is This K-Pop Girl Band for Real?

Is This K-Pop Girl Band for Real?

Less than two months ago the new South Korean girl group MAVE: released¹ its first music video. It now has nearly 20 million views on YouTube.

At first look, MAVE: looks like any other K-pop band. But it only exists virtually³. Its four members - SIU, ZENA, TYRA and MARTY - live in the digital world, also called the metaverse. The group's songs, dances, talks and even their hair are created by web designers and artificial⁴ intelligence.

"When I first saw MAVE, it was a little confusing to tell whether they were humans or virtual² characters," said Han Su-min, a 19-year-old in Seoul. "Because I use metaverse platforms with my friends often, I feel like I could become their fan."

MAVE:'s almost human-like characters provide an early look at how the metaverse is likely to look in the coming years.

It also represents a push by the technology company Kakao Corporation⁵ to become a strong force in entertainment. Apart from creating MAVE:, Kakao made a $960 million offer recently to buy SM Entertainment. SM has a record company that is home to several popular K-pop groups.

Kakao has said earlier that it has invested⁷ more than $9 million in Metaverse Entertainment, a group it formed with gaming group Netmarble, to create MAVE:.

Four languages

The idea of a virtual band is not new in South Korea. In 1998, the virtual singer Adam was created. Twenty years later, there was the K-pop girl group K/DA, based on characters from the video game League of Legends. Neither was popular.

But South Korean technology has made progress since then in creating virtual characters. MAVE: is more natural-looking thanks to new tools and artificial intelligence. Developers are able to create facial expressions and small details in things like hair, viewers say.

With the aid of an AI voice creator, its members can speak four languages - Korean, English, French and Bahasa. But they cannot speak to answer any questions. They must use words prepared by humans.

The group's voices in its first song "Pandora" and the dance in the music video were created by human performers.

Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic aided the growth of such virtual characters. Many K-pop companies moved online during lockdowns to keep fans happy.

Lee Jong-im is a pop culture critic who teaches at Seoul National University. He said fans got used to online performances and have become more accepting of the idea that there can be both virtual and real K-pop singers.

Virtual groups like MAVE: are making news for being new and different. But questions remain over whether they can be just as popular as regular bands with their large numbers of fans.

Lee Gyu-tag is an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea. He said that unless virtual groups have "unpredictability, they will become something close to video technology, not K-pop."

Yet, MAVE:'s creators and entertainment industry officials are hopeful.

"With so many comments received from all over the world, I've realized that viewers do want something new and that they are rather open-minded," said Roh Shi-yong. He is the head producer of a weekly music show that showed MAVE:'s performance twice.

"The metaverse era⁶ is coming."

Words in This Story

virtual — adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

character — n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

platform — n. a flat surface that is raised higher than the floor or ground and that people stand on when performing or speaking

viewer — n. a person who sees or looks at something

lockdown — n. an emergency measure or condition in which people are temporarily prevented from entering or leaving a restricted⁸ area or building (such as a school) during a threat of danger

era — n. a period of time that is associated with a particular quality, event, person, etc.

1 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

2 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

3 virtually   

adv.实际上，事实上

参考例句：

• The job was virtually completed by the end of the week.到周末时这项工作差不多完成了。
• He was virtually a prisoner.他实际上是个囚犯。

4 artificial   

adj.人工的，人造的，人为的；做作的，假装的

参考例句：

• The new dam will form a large artificial lake behind it.新筑的水坝将会在后面形成一个人工湖。
• We don't use any artificial flavourings in our products.我们的产品不使用任何人工调味剂。

5 corporation   

n.公司，企业&n.社团，团体

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• The inflation did the corporation up. 通货膨胀使这个公司破产了。

6 era   

n.时代，年代，纪元，阶段

参考例句：

• We are living in the information era.我们生活在信息时代。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

7 invested   

v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• The money will be invested in managed funds. 这笔钱将投资于管理基金。
• He invested his lawyer with complete power to act for him. 他让律师全权代办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 restricted   

adj.有限的；受约束的

参考例句：

• Speed is restricted to 30 mph in towns. 在城里车速不得超过每小时30英里。
• a restricted range of foods 有限的食物种类