From March 1, Founder and Chief Executive Producer of SM Entertainment Soo-Man Lee began teaching in the School of Computing as a distinguished visiting professor. As an influential pioneer who promoted K-content in the global entertainment market, he stresses the increasing need for future producers to become “culture scientists”, converging culture with technology.”

While studying computer engineering as a graduate student in California State University, Northridge, Professor Lee set a renewed vision of how the Korean music industry could grow. He nurtured SM Entertainment as the powerhouse of K-pop, presenting a plethora of recognized artists to worldwide audiences such as Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, and Red Velvet. Professor Lee won numerous awards and honors for his achievements, becoming the first Korean listed on Variety500 and the 2020 Billboard Impact List as a prominent entertainment business leader. He also received the K-pop Contribution Award at Gaon Chart Music Awards and the Asia Game Changer Awards in 2016 as a notable figure who shaped Korean culture. 

Professor Lee will deliver lectures on leadership for both undergraduate and graduate students. Moreover, he will contribute to metaverse-related research as a consultant by collaborating with the provisional “Metaverse Institute” within the KAIST Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The fusion of K-pop and technology is already evident — Beyond LIVE concerts allow audiences to experience music in new ways through 3D holograms that use augmented reality. The metaverse — a shared virtual-reality space in which users interact via digital avatars — is another such emerging element in K-pop. SM has introduced a Play2Create (P2C) ecosystem, in which users can use intellectual properties provided in SM’s metaverse platform to recreate content into diverse media such as games, music, and goods. By working with KAIST, SM Entertainment hopes to be at the forefront of the global metaverse market. 

Lee’s appointment deepens the existing partnership between KAIST and SM from their aims to drive innovation in engineering technology and the entertainment industry. On June 23 last year, KAIST and SM Entertainment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on joint metaverse research. With the fusion of KAIST’s AI robot and SM’s content production expertise, researchers aim to produce more dynamic and evocative digital technology which will attract more audiences to the beauty of K-pop. 

Professor Lee is excited and grateful to meet the students at KAIST, which he applauds as “the very cradle of Korea’s science and technology”. He proclaimed, “We will lead the metaverse world with the excellent contents and technology unique to our country, and work together to lead the future global entertainment market.” Aligning with Professor Lee’s appointment, President Kwang-Hyung Lee has highlighted the importance of expanding creativity in the metaverse as a means to adapt to a new era. He hopes that the “vision and creative insights of Executive Producer Lee will have a positive and fresh impact on the members of KAIST.”