A poster for girl group aespa’s VR concert / Courtesy of AmazeVR
VR platform’s co-CEO talks about his journey combining technology, entertainment
By Dong Sun-hwa
For those who were itching to get an up-close look at K-pop girl group aespa and its spellbinding performances, the quartet’s first-ever virtual reality (VR) concert, dubbed LYNK-POP, made their wish come true at a reasonable price. It was screened at Megabox COEX in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District from Oct. 25 to Nov. 21, attracting some 8,000 moviegoers.
The hyper-realistic show invited viewers to “Kwangya,” a virtual world, and then Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning offered an immersive experience, rocking the stage with some of their biggest hits including “Black Mamba” (2020) and “Next Level” (2021), just like they do for their in-person concerts.
However, the VR format provided an intimate viewing experience, allowing the moviegoers to feel like they were the only audience member watching the performances and to observe even the most subtle movements and gestures of the K-pop stars with complete awareness.
Steve Lee, co-founder/co-CEO of AmazeVR / Courtesy of AmazeVR
Since its establishment in 2015, AmazeVR has collaborated mostly with U.S. artists like the Grammy-winning rapper Megan Thee Stallion, mainly because the country has the second-largest VR headset market after only China. Almost one in five American adults has used or is using VR, according to evaluation platform 99Firms.
“Apple’s VR headset, Vision Pro, is expected to launch in 2024, and is likely to play a vital role in market expansion,” Lee noted. “We wanted to showcase what we already have before that, so we turned our eyes to K-pop which is basking in global popularity. We decided to start off with SM Entertainment’s aespa, knowing that the group’s unique concept linked to digital avatars and metaverse would match well with us.”
AmazeVR plans to release a VR concert in January featuring another SM artist, Kai of boy band EXO, and then team up with other prominent K-pop acts.
“I personally want to shoot a VR concert for Jungkook of K-pop behemoth BTS,” Lee revealed. “I love his songs, and I think he excels in performance.”
Karina, left, and Giselle of K-pop girl group aespa watch their own VR concert. Courtesy of AmazeVR
The co-CEO dove into the world of VR after building up experience as a software developer and consultant. He also ran a startup with his friends before joining tech giant Kakao where he bumped into three other co-founders of AmazeVR — JB Lee, Jeremy Nam and Steven Koo.
“Back then, Kakao was making waves in Korea, but I felt like it had room for growth when it comes to global presence,” Lee said. “So, all four of us, who thought personalized TVs and monitors would reign supreme in the future, decided to venture into the realm of VR and set up AmazeVR. We believe that VR will soon provide people with a realistic viewing experience that looks no different from our reality.”
However, the fact that a VR headset is too heavy for people is a major stumbling block in boosting its accessibility. And this was the reason that aespa’s LYNK-POP concert ran for just 25-30 minutes.
“We understand that it can be challenging for viewers to wear these headsets for more than an hour,” Lee said. “So, for our next VR concerts, we may extend the runtime by about 5-10 minutes only. But once these headsets become lighter in the future, viewers will adapt more comfortably to longer VR experiences.”
In the coming days, Lee hopes AmazeVR can reach a broader audience in the U.S., Japan and beyond.
“We will seek ways to create our own online platform where we can showcase our content for more people,” he said. “I think we are still at the beginning.”
