Meet, perhaps date your favorite K-pop star with VR headgear

Korea Herald

5 days ago

VR technology brings fresh energy to K-pop-themed films
Imagine your favorite K-pop star being just within reach, confessing their love or playfully teasing you. Picture them beaming as they offer a bouquet of your favorite flowers. It's no longer just a fantasy — thanks to VR concerts.
On Wednesday, CGV released "Cha Eun-woo VR Concert: Memories." Viewers wear a VR headset and are immersed in a romance-movie-like experience, stepping into the role of the romantic lead opposite the singer. By raising a hand while wearing the headset, the system recognizes your gestures, allowing you to choose essential story items based on your preferences, leading to different scene outcomes.
As the film is also a concert movie starring the K-pop idol, performances are woven into the storyline. Viewers can watch Cha singing and dancing just like in any other concert, but much closer.
"It was fascinating to see a nearly 180-degree background view and how Cha Eun-woo seemed to come right up close. The headset was a bit heavy, but it was really fun," said Ha Ji-yeon, a fan in her 20s.
Just a few years ago, K-pop films were either documentaries that shed light on artists' off-stage lives or concert films that captured performances and behind-the-scenes footage.
Wheesung's "Live in 3D Wheesung: It's Real," released in 2010, is often remembered as the beginning of this trend. It was followed by BigBang's "Big Show 3D" in 2011, Beast's "Beast Encore Concert 3D" and Infinite's "Second Invasion Evolution The Movie 3D" in 2012 — all live concert films watched with 3D glasses that became quite the trend at the time.
After the 3D film wave passed, BTS's "Burn the Stage: The Movie," which documented the group's world tour "Trilogy Episode III The Wings Tour," was released in 2018 and drew 315,010 viewers. Since then, many major K-pop acts have followed up their world tours or large-scale concerts with accompanying films to extend the excitement.
Now, VR films are breathing new life into the now largely predictable patterns of K-pop cinema.
The company behind Cha Eun-woo's VR concert, Amaze VR, which previously produced TXT's "Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert" in 2024, has ambitious plans to expand the K-pop VR concert market.
Amaze VR CEO Lee Seung-joon confidently predicted that VR concerts to become one of the leading trends in the K-pop scene.
'Last year's TXT VR concert sold over 170,000 tickets worldwide. That's about 30-40 percent of what a live concert sells, and based on that success, we plan to launch a new VR concert every two months starting June,' said Lee.
He explained that the filming process for realistic VR visuals is similar to shooting a Marvel movie.
'We film the artist directly on a green screen stage and then add backgrounds and effects using CG. All of the backgrounds are computer-generated,' explained Lee.
"Cha Eun-woo VR Concert" is also set to be released in Japan, the US and South America.
To screen the concert, each seat must be equipped with a VR headset, synchronized with the screen and sound system and managed by staff overseeing the devices. Amaze VR owns over 2,400 headsets and has set an ambitious goal of establishing 'Amaze Theaters' worldwide, akin to IMAX auditoriums.
"Using just one or two days of an artist's time to create an experience that lasts forever holds immense value. I hope someday all artists would release a VR concert alongside every new album or tour — and this marks our first step toward that world," said Lee.