Online immersive K-pop performance venue opens in Seoul

A music studio tailored for online immersive performances opened in Seoul on Tuesday, aimed at reviving the pandemic-hit music industry and supporting digital content productions by local small and medium-sized agencies and musicians.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency launched KOCCA Music Studio after remodeling the Olympic Park K-Art hall, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The new venue is tailored for online K-pop concerts, video productions and even virtual fan meetings.

“KOCCA Music Studio will support productions of new online performance contents that can contribute to the further spread of Hallyu and actively support the K-pop music industry,” Jo Hyun-rae, president and CEO of Korea Creative Content Agency, said during a press conference at the venue.

“Turning the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity, we are expecting KOCCA Music Studio to set a precedent for the industry, which successfully transformed in-person concert venues to online,“ said Cho Hyun-jae, chairman of Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, during his congratulatory remarks. “We will cooperate with the Korea Sports Industry Corp. to share our expertise in performance facility management to support the venue to become a source for promoting Hallyu,” Cho said.  

KOCCA Music Studio will use cutting-edge technology such as extended reality and 3D modeling to create a more immersive and spectacular experience for online concerts and content productions. It can add in sounds of the audience cheering, sing-alongs and other high-quality sounds during the production process. The venue will also feature online streaming systems, post-production devices and have resident technicians assist in content production.

Next year, KOCCA will invest 10 billion won ($8.47 million) that will go toward more than 50 online concerts and some 80 other related content productions to be hosted annually, a KOCCA official said, citing a survey it conducted earlier. It will also support production costs for small and medium-sized agencies and help musicians’ overseas promotions as well. Large agencies can also use the venue if they have fresh ideas for creating new content.

To share ideas on how KOCCA Music Studio can be used, the agency is set to unveil a performance series “On the K.” The first of the eight-part show is set to take place on New Year’s Eve.