South Korea has launched Galaxy Robot Park, a new entertainment venue in southern Seoul that combines humanoid robots with K-pop performances, aiming to create a fresh business model linking technology and mass entertainment.
The 16,500-square-metre park features a Robot Arena where groups of humanoid robots perform synchronised dances to popular K-pop tracks such as “Bang Bang Bang” and “APT” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars. The machines learn dance moves through advanced motion-capture technology.
Visitors can also interact with remote-controlled boxing robots, mechanical dogs and androids that draw personalised portraits. Robotic arms serve ice cream and coffee in the park’s cafes.
The project is run by Galaxy Corporation, headed by CEO Choi Yong-ho. The company, which represents major Korean artists including G-Dragon and Song Kang-ho, describes the concept as “EnterTech.”
Choi said the idea grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic. “No matter how much we wanted to go on a world tour during the Covid pandemic, we simply couldn’t. That’s when we all realised that humans have limitations,” he explained.
On whether fans will accept robot shows in place of live concerts, Choi remained cautious. “The answer is something we are still in the process of discovering, as no one else has tried it before.”
A six-week trial that began in July drew more than 20,000 visitors. Choi called the park the start of a broader vision. “The next step after K-pop is the combination of content and physical artificial intelligence. We will make Galaxy Robot Park the beginning of a new era of global entertainment.”
The company plans to expand the format to markets including the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Japan. At the official opening, robots and human artists performed coordinated martial arts displays.
Choi described the venue as a place of growing human-robot coexistence: “This space, which we call ‘Robot Park’, is a place where robots move freely, where a robot serves you ice cream, another plays the piano at a birthday party, and where we have just begun a story of coexistence and symbiosis with robots.”
