Virtual influencer Han YuA to drop her first single, music video

Cover of Han YuA's new song "I Like That" [SMILEGATE]

Virtual influencer Han YuA will make her debut as a K-pop idol on Tuesday evening, according to Han's creators Smilegate and Giantstep.

Her single titled "I Like That" and its music video will be released on music streaming platforms at 6 p.m.

Smilegate said that Han's voice is an amalgamation of data that has been combined through artificial intelligence to make one voice.

CJ ENM, a local entertainment company produced the music with Smilegate.

The song is written by producer Park Woo-seong, who is best known for writing music for the girl group Mamamoo and singer Chungha. Dohee Kim of 1MILLION Dance Studio came up with the choreography for "I Like That." Production company Vikings League, which has directed music videos for girl groups Red Velvet and IZ*ONE, directed Han's upcoming music video.

Han was first showcased to the public in 2019 as one of the main female characters in the VR game “Focus on You.” She was an animation in the VR game but video game developer Smilegate launched Han as a 3D virtual influencer in August last year. For the three-dimensional version of Han, Smilegate worked with Giantstep, a contents solution company that also created the AI avatars of the girl group aespa.

Since then, Han has been appointed as an ambassador for the food shortage issue at an NGO called “Hope Friend” (translated) and has taken part in photoshoots for fashion magazines.

Han is represented by the entertainment agency YG KPlus.YG KPlus is owned by YG Plus which is a subsidiary entertainment agency of major K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment.

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]