SK Telecom will open the K-POP Hotel on the ifland metaverse platform, a new community where K-POP idols and global fans can meet, on the 10th.
The K-POP Hotel is an immersive fan community that vividly captures the unique group concepts of each idol using the 3D and XR characteristics of the metaverse, differentiating itself from existing 2D fan platforms.
The K-POP Hotel is a virtual hotel connected throughout the ifland space, consisting of three main spaces: ▲ an “intro screen” that offers a panoramic view of all the hotel floors ▲ an “artist lounge” where idols check-in from the 1st to the 99th floor, and ▲ “member rooms” decorated with unique characteristics of each member.
First, the “home screen” allows users to see and follow the idols who have checked in from the 1st to the 99th floor at a glance. The floor number is assigned based on the artist’s personal selection.
The first guests of the K-POP Hotel will be global hitmakers aespa checking in on the 99th floor and the representative girl group ifrandis checking in on the 2nd floor. Top-tier K-POP artists RIIZE and Sandara Park will check in sequentially at the end of June and September, respectively.
The “Artist Lounge” is an independent metaverse space for each idol group. Global fans can gather in the lounge to enjoy a variety of content ranging from artist bulletin boards to music videos, large art walls, and volumetric content.
In particular, the “Artist Lounge” will feature “fan missions”, collaborative tasks that will be carried out every 2-3 weeks. Fans will receive benefits based on their success in accomplishing ‘fandom’ missions, such as filling a post-it bulletin board with supportive messages or collecting artist images. ifland has prepared numerous rewards for both fans and idols, including real-time fan meetups, virtual items, signed CDs, Polaroid raffle tickets, and subway advertisements.
The “Member Rooms” are exclusive spaces decorated with the unique characteristics and memories of each member, connected to the artist lounge. For example, from the intro screen, you can choose the 99th floor to go to the “aespa Lounge” and then enter the member rooms of Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning.
Within the “Member Rooms,” visitors can find exclusive content specific to the ifland K-POP Hotel. Examples include the “Secret Frame,” which can only be viewed after completing a verification quiz, and the “Volumetric 3D Motion,” where idols’ appearances change throughout the morning, afternoon, and evening.
The “Volumetric 3D Motion” produced using SKT’s volumetric technology displays lifelike movements that make it seem as though the artists exist in the metaverse space, allowing fans to feel as if they are visiting the idols’ rooms.
Ifland will also showcase ▲ K-POP Hotel costumes ▲ ifhome decorating items ▲ volumetric items. Costumes mimicking aespa’s stage outfits, pajama costumes evoking a hotel stay feel, and exclusive photo art walls of artists are some examples. Notably, the artist lounge features mannequins where users can try on the “stage costume costumes”.
Ifland has continued to offer unique meetings between global fans and K-POP artists through volumetric concerts, special artist ifhomes, and more. The K-POP Hotel aims to foster new K-POP culture by providing differentiated metaverse experiences, including fan missions that gather global fandom, along with planned future AI functionalities.
Yang Maeng-seok, Vice President of SKT Metaverse CO, stated, “We expect more extensive communication between fans and artists, as well as among the fans themselves, through the 3D immersive artist content and participatory fan missions that ifland offers. The K-POP Hotel will establish itself as a new global space for fans and artists to meet,” he said.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr