Joseph Hwang In the 1980s, South Korea achieved democracy through a constitutional amendment that allowed direct presidential elections in response to civil resistance against military rule. This constitutional shift came at a significant cost, with ordinary citizens sacrificing their lives so that future generations could establish a nation grounded in their cherished values. Today, the older generation of South Koreans plays a pivotal role in this democratic legacy, as the freedoms and values they fought for have nurtured the global rise of K-pop. For this generation, protests are ingrained in their culture, yet they believe such actions should not be necessary. The term “martial law” is particularly sensitive for them, as they are acutely aware of the oppressive military dictatorships in South Korea’s history, where it was a tool for controlling dissent. Just hearing the phrase triggers memories of the violence that occurred during pro-democracy protests. However, on December 3, 202...
SM Entertainment, the preeminent K-pop production company that pioneered the K-pop idol group format, unveiled a pre-debut teaser video for its inaugural virtual artist, “nævis.” Scheduled to debut in September 2024, nævis has been gradually introduced to the public on several occasions as a character who assists and guides SM Entertainment artist aespa’s avatar, æ-aespa.
There have been multiple instances throughout the history of K-pop in which virtual artists have been introduced to the public as standalone entities. However, whereas previous virtual artists have been created with a strict separation between the virtual and the real worlds, SM’s upcoming nævis represents a departure from this approach, blurring the boundaries between the two realms.
nævis’ teaser, “The Birth of nævis”
1. Not an Avatar
It is important to distinguish between an avatar and a character that exists in the real world. An avatar is a virtual character, whereas the original character exists in the real world. In other words, an avatar represents a one-to-one correspondence between the virtual and real worlds. In the context of aespa, nævis is also designated as a virtual artist who corresponds to a real-world individual as one of the virtual characters designated “ae.” In this regard, nævis resembles an avatar; however, the distinction is that nævis is also a solo artist within the virtual domain. This narrative configuration appears to be a natural progression as she transitions between the virtual and tangible realms.
2. Expanded Artist Debuts
The significance of nævis’ inaugural appearance can be attributed to contemporary K-pop artists engaging in activities that traverse both the tangible and virtual realms, creating a narrative within an expanded universe. The world has evolved from a state of separation to one of interconnectedness. In the event of fatigue among human artists, a virtual artist can assume the role, continue the activity, or even transition to a different season.
A significant distinction is that K-pop artists’ debuts have historically been confined to the physical domain. However, recent developments have enabled the simultaneous launch of such debuts in the virtual realm. An artist may transition from a state of minimal existence to a state of maximal expression in seconds. Moreover, this transition can occur at any moment and in a planned sequence.
SM has announced its intention to present a series of narratives, commencing with the genesis of nævis. The objective is to construct a narrative that interweaves the experiences of a singular entity with a multitude of occurrences, thereby prompting inquiries, illustrating discord, and evoking a range of emotional responses from the audience. Furthermore, the narrative will be disseminated through various media outlets. One such medium is Webtoon, a digital platform for online comics.
3. Virtual Personas
The concept of the Virtual Persona represents a novel phenomenon in the domain of artistic practice. While virtual characters, such as avatars, may offer some insights into this phenomenon, they cannot constitute a sufficient explanation in and of themselves. As a result, K-pop production companies will be required to redefine the fundamental concepts of “artist,” “debut,” and “activity.” The nævis project is not an avatar experiment; it is a “virtual persona,” which entails a one-to-one correspondence between the actual artist and the virtual character, or a scenario in which the two characters are active independently. The term “character” does not fully capture the essence of this phenomenon; it is more accurate to describe it as an “extended personality.” The advent of new forms of existence is significant. Technological advances will demonstrate that the distinction between the real and the virtual is, in fact, meaningless.
During the global pandemic, the metaverse was a popular topic of discussion. The creation of a graphical presence represented the individual in the metaverse; a term was coined to describe this concept: a “sub-character.” However, the notion of a virtual persona extends beyond this. A virtual persona is not a representation of another being; it is an extension of a real-world counterpart. A virtual persona can be defined as an entity whose existence is simultaneously synchronized with and independent of the real world. Even in the event of the artist’s demise, the virtual persona will persist in the tangible world. Besides, it will not merely persist; it will continue to generate new narratives despite the absence of the source. This marks the advent of a new and enduring existence. The notion of science fiction as a tangible, if temporarily neglected, phenomenon has been a recurring theme in recent discourse.
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