Klive symbolizes creative economy

Holographic images of Psy and his dancers perform a concert at the Klive concert hall in Dongdaemun, central Seoul, yesterday. Provided by KT

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning will join KT and YG Entertainment to help export Korean Wave-related cultural content from small and medium enterprises.

The ministry, mobile carrier and entertainment company held an opening ceremony yesterday for Klive, a 500 pyeong, or 17,791-square-foot, hologram concert hall on the ninth and 10th floors of Lotte Fitin shopping mall in Dongdaemun.

By using many ICT technologies, it will provide experiences such as an elevator with three-dimensional images of Hallyu, or Korean Wave, stars like Psy, Big Bang and 2NE1, and the opportunity to watch pre-release videos of dance performances and concerts in 3-D with special glasses.

The group also plans to attract foreign tourists by opening similar concert halls on Jeju Island and in Myeongdong, central Seoul, as well as in Japan and China.

The K-pop Hologram project was established last year with the goal of attracting more tourists and spreading the new 3.0 Korean Wave. To accomplish this goal, the ministry spent 4.3 billion won ($4 million) in 2013 to help small and medium companies develop holographic content.

The Klive is much more than just a performance venue. It has a terrace overlooking Dongdaemun and also displays concert props, including G-Dragon’s concert car and costumes.

There are other digital attractions in which audiences can participate too. The augmented reality (AR) elevator makes riders feel as though they are standing with Hallyu stars. A “secret window” allows them to watch not-yet-released videos in 3-D with special glasses. At the 6-meter (19-foot) Giant Tower, people can view photo albums of their favorite stars. In the Start Photo Box, visitors can pose for pictures with 3-D images of Hallyu stars. They can then print the images.

The performance hall features moveable walls and special effects such as 14.2 channel surround sound, lights, lasers, fog and dynamic pictures.

Meanwhile, global web design company d’strict, which participated in the Klive project as a shared-growth partner of KT, plans to enter the global market with its content production and holographic technology. With d’strict, the show business company YG Entertainment showcased a hologram of Psy during the World IT Show at COEX in Seoul last May. They also opened a hologram theater at Everland theme park in July.

In December, SM Entertainment also opened the 7,116-square-foot SM town V-theater at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka and has been offering hologram performances of its K-pop groups such as Girls’ Generation, TVXQ and SHINee.

In August, SM is planning the production of a musical that mixes live action performances and holograms. It is also set to open a hologram theater at COEX’s Artium in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul.

In addition, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning will be actively supporting the so-called content plant export, in line with the Pengyou Content Project it has promoted since last year, to construct hologram theaters in Chinese theme parks and shopping malls.

“For the growth of the domestic content industry, boosting exports and entering overseas markets is necessary. In order to do this, companies must develop killer content that can work in foreign countries,” said Yoon Jong-rok, vice minister of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

“The project of combining digital technology and K-pop that represents Korean wave to create a new content industry can be cited part of the creative economy.”

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]