Tech meets K-pop: KAIST, Galaxy Corp to launch AI enter-tech research center

K-pop singer G-Dragon speaks during Innovate Korea 2024 at KAIST in Daejeon, June 5, 2024. Courtesy of Galaxy Corporation

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is teaming up with entertainment technology company Galaxy Corp., home to K-pop star G-Dragon, to set up an artificial intelligence entertainment tech research center.

The school said it held a launch ceremony for the project at its campus in Daejeon Wednesday. The collaboration aims to integrate technology with K-culture to develop creative cultural content and expand the future of Korea's entertainment industry.

The center is set to officially launch in the third quarter of this year and is expected to be a key institution for platform development and content innovation, focusing on research in technological convergence including AI and robotics.

"We will combine KAIST's cutting-edge AI technology with Galaxy Corp.'s fandom platform to provide fans around the world with an unprecedented entertainment experience," Galaxy Corp CEO Choi Yong-ho said. "The convergence of AI enter-tech is the beginning of an innovation that will enrich human life."

The research center is the first outcome of the school and entertainment agency’s collaboration after the two signed a memorandum of understanding last year for joint scientific research to promote K-pop on the global scene.

Under the partnership, the two plan to pursue various projects, including developing AI-based entertainment tech platforms, immersive and interactive content and joint research on global content technology.

G-Dragon, the entertainment agency’s sole artist, played a key role in founding the research center by proposing to KAIST the concept of AI enter-tech — an idea aimed at integrating advanced technology into popular culture.

The singer was named a visiting professor at the school’s mechanical engineering department last June, to deliver lectures on leadership and organize cultural events for its undergraduate and graduate students.

He attended this year’s Innovate Korea, an annual event that invites experts, scholars and entrepreneurs in the fields of science and technology, and presented a special talk show to discuss the future of AI enter-tech on Wednesday.

"KAIST's scientific and technological capabilities combined with professor Kwon Ji-yong's global perspective will lead the technological evolution in K-culture," KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung said.