K-pop's next big move - into the metaverse

Having given the world K-pop, Parasite and Squid Game, South Korea wants to create its own global platforms to distribute entertainment content

Blackpink held a virtual signing event last year on Zepeto, a K-pop and fashion-focused avatar platform that Korean entertainment firms like YG Entertainment all have stakes in. PHOTO: YG ENTERTAINMENT
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(FINANCIAL TIMES) Mr Bernie Cho still remembers his visit to the smoking area of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris in 2010. The Korean-American music executive, who worked with several high-profile Korean pop acts during his days as a producer and presenter on MTV in the early 2000s, was travelling with a delegation of Korean artistes and government officials to stage the inaugural K-pop showcase at an international music festival in Cannes.

Stepping outside in Paris after a long flight from Seoul, he was startled to see dozens of young fans of Epik High, a Korean hip-hop trio he was accompanying to France.

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