SM Culture Universe | |
---|---|
Created by | SM Entertainment |
Owner | SM Entertainment |
Years | 2020–present |
The SM Culture Universe (SMCU) is a shared universe produced by SM Entertainment.
Development
"We are now going to kwangya. We are also going through a turbulent fourth industrial revolution in which not only COVID-19 but also other diseases and climate change can occur at any time. In the future, there will be more changes in human lifestyle as technology advances, and as I said before, the future world will become a world of celebrities and robots. We mentioned SM Culture Universe (SMCU) as a key value and vision for the future entertainment world, and we will introduce new girl group Aespa as the first project that will soon open the beginning of future entertainment."
—Lee Soo-man,Producer, and Chairman of SM Entertainment, on constructing a shared universe.[1]
By 2004, SM Entertainment had been working to produce their own culture universe.[2] During the planning stage, Lee Soo-man thought of creating a worldview with "innovative and powerful" storytelling.[3] He presumed that creating, delivering stories, and entering the worldview is a competition.[4] Instead of a worldview interpreted as a symbol or a metaphor, they created storytelling content that contains a completely "new and very attractive" character and story, and Lee believed that this story is an essential element for expressing artists and music, and is the key to success.[5]
Lee Soo-man attended the First World Cultural Industry Forum (WCIF) as a representative of Korean culture and gave a keynote speech under the theme of "The Future of the World Entertainment Industry After COVID-19 and Culture Universe".[6] In one of the highlights on his speech, Lee stated that they are one step closer to the future entertainment world they have dreamed of.[7] He added that in the year 2020, they will realized SMCU as a vision for the future entertainment world, through the new girl group Aespa, and move forward with "new and innovative" ways as they have done so far.[8]
On November 11, 2020, Park Jun-young, the executive director of SM Entertainment, attended the UAM Seoul Demonstration and Drone Taxi Demonstration Flight Event "City, Open the Sky" hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Park explained the importance of cultural technology in the future mobility industry. It was stated that SM has continued to challenge convergence of culture and technology under the future vision of Lee Soo-man and has been preparing for the future as a "technology company" that goes beyond entertainment.[9] Lee mentioned SMCU as the "core value and vision" of SM.[10] He asserted that it aims to "create a culture-connected entertainment world" and is preparing to predict that the future will be a world of AI and celebrity.[11]
On November 12, 2020, Lee Sung-soo, the CEO of SM Entertainment, together with Choi Si-won, a Super Junior member, attended the Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week 2020 for Chinese businessmen around the world on behalf of the Korean cultural industry.[12] It was held simultaneously around the world as a real-time online forum and was broadcast on YouTube due to COVID-19 concerns.[13] Choi addressed SMCU as the "core value and vision of future entertainment" presented by SM.[14] He presented that SMCU is "not just a worldview" that is interpreted as a symbol or a metaphor, but a "new vision and project" to express artists and music through storytelling content that contains "attractive" characters and stories.[15] Choi talked about Aespa as the "beginning" of the SMCU project, and added that the worldview and stories of various groups such as Exo, Red Velvet, and NCT will unfold independently and sometimes connect to new stories.[16] Additionally, he added that Super Junior is also part of SMCU and hopes that people will see what different stories the group will unfold in the future.[17]
On June 23, 2021, SM Entertainment and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint metaverse study.[18] Previously, Lee Soo-man had teamed up with Marvel, Creative Artists Agency, and Intel, among other global companies, to make the culture universe.[19] Through the MoU, SM and KAIST plans to mutually carry out technological cooperation in fields such as content, artificial intelligence and robots, common projects related to digital avatar production, and collective academic research on Culture Technology (CT).[20] Through the joint research with KAIST's College of Culture and Technology, SM will focus on researching metaverse performance technology using avatars.[21] Based on the collaboration, KAIST and SM plans to carry out research that seeks both the "perfection" of performances and the "advancement" of technology.[22]
On June 29, 2021, SM Entertainment held SM Congress 2021 to announce SM's vision and strategy.[23] Lee Soo-man opened the event through stating that SM has "continued the challenge to create an experience" that was never before with music content. He explained that the metaverse era will be recognized for its "originality and will become more valuable" in the future.[24] Furthermore, Lee said that they have predicted, prepared and pioneered the future.[25] Lee told Aespa that they are "stepping out in earnest to a world" where they expand their worldview under the name of SM Culture Universe and create their own universe.[26] Moreover, SM announced further details regarding SMCU such as potential plans for films, applications, and games that would allow for fan interaction.[27]
On July 1, 2021, the Second WCIF was held in the form of an international seminar involving key figures from five countries including South Korea, the United States, China, Japan, and India.[28] Under the theme of "Changes in the Music and Entertainment Industry in the Post COVID Era", Lee Soo-man, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's chairman Mark Burnett, who produced famous audition programs The Voice and Survivor, and Teddy Zee, who has more than 30 years of experience in Hollywood, will be delivering their keynote speeches.[29] Lee asserted on his keynote speech that "unexpected" fields should fuse with entertainment, be able to create "explosive synergy", and that Korea should become the "first mover".[30] Moreover, he said that in the future, the content that would be drawing attention should be the supposed "recreative content" that users can recreate and claimed that the content can be a "third currency".[31] Lee added that it will be an agenda that they wanted to share with the cultural and future industry leaders as well as K-pop.[32]
Media
Comics
Title | Publication date(s) | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First published | Last published | ||||
SMCU : Red Velvet - The Story of ReVe | November 9, 2022 | November 11, 2022 | Kim Aromi | D D Kang | [33] |
Projects
Aespa
It was announced that the SM Entertainment will introduce a new girl group, Aespa, which will be the first project for SMCU.[34] Lee Soo-man revealed that once the group is released to the world, people will experience "new" entertainment through "attractive" stories in addition to all Intellectual Property Rights (IP), visuals and performances, including their music, lyrics, and video content including the music video.[35] Lee have mentioned Aespa's storytelling in which artist members in the "real world" and avatar members in the "virtual world" communicate, interact, and grow through the "digital world", an intermediate world between reality and virtual reality.[36] In addition, he described a new concept group with a "groundbreaking" identity to work together in reality in which the members of the "real world", the avatar members and the mysterious beings in the "virtual world", who supports and assists them, are members of Aespa.[37] Lee furtherly presented their plan of a "completely new concept" of storytelling to which "real world" members and "virtual world" members have artificial intelligence (AI) brains as different organisms.[38]
CAWMAN
Cartoon, Animation, Webtoon, Motion Graphics, Avatar, and Novel (CAWMAN) is a new mixed video genre to portray SM Culture Universe (SMCU).[39] Lee Soo-man hinted that there are talks about making a movie in Hollywood using the genre.[40]
Related terminologies
Name | Description | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Ae (stylized as æ) | The online avatars of Aespa that have been created from all of the data that the members have uploaded on the internet | [41] |
Black Mamba | The threat to the world and disrupts the connection between the real subject and the virtual reality avatar | [42] |
Ether | The sea of unconsciousness | [43] |
Flat | A virtual world where people and their "aes" coexist with each other | [44] |
Kosmo | An unknown world that appears in the worldview of Aespa and NCT | [45] |
Kwangya (Korean: 광야; lit. Wilderness) | A parallel dimension where the "Black Mamba" resides and the "ae" exists | [46] |
My | A key figure in the story which means "the most precious friend" in "Kwangya" | [47] |
Naevis (stylized as nævis) | An artificial intelligence system and a mysterious being which connects Aespa and the avatar in the virtual world | [48] |
Nu Evo | The new evolution | [41] |
Synk | A virtual platform wherein Aespa and their avatars are connected | [49] |
SynkOut | The forced disconnection with the "ae" | [50] |
Rekall | The process where an avatar can come out for a limited time in the real world | [51] |
P.O.S (Port of Soul) | Allows Aespa and their "aes" to "Synk" or hang out together in the real world | [52] |
Recurring cast and characters
Character | Artist or Group |
---|---|
TBA | Kangta |
Birth of Universe | BoA |
Speed of Light and Sound | TVXQ |
Space Travel Beyond Nationality and Ownership | Super Junior |
Goddess of Sound | Girls' Generation |
Five Lights | Shinee |
Supernatural Powers | Exo |
Transcendental Beings that are in Communion with the Gods | Red Velvet |
Messengers of Solidarity through Dreams and Subsconsciousness | NCT |
TBA | Aespa |
Reception
Gong Mi-na of StarNews noted the project for containing SM Entertainment's "accumulated technology" and "know-how" which is expected to become the new model for K-pop market.[54] Gong also praised SM for the consistent application of "cutting-edge technology" to K-pop and introducing contents that has "advanced to the next level".[55] Kim Sun-woo of Sports Seoul recognized SM's signaling of an "expanded worldview" that will "exceed" expectations, adding a statement from an official on the music industry, "The idea of avatar is fresh, but the key seems to be how collaboration will be achieved and how much bond it can form with fans".[56] Lee Jae-hoon of Newsis labeled SM's various experiments as building a "cultural empire" and is compared its similarity with Marvel Cinematic Universe which also creates contents with diverse world views with IPs.[57] Jung Yu-jin of SPOTV News reported that the industry is interested in Aespa's avatar worldview, describing it as "groundbreaking".[58] Jang Jin-ri from the same news media stated that it remains as SM's attempt to become a "cultural empire" beyond an entertainment company representing Korea.[59] Kim Do-heon of OhmyStar compared the SMCU to Marvel Universe because of its resemblance with building a virtual worldview.[60]
References
- ↑ Lee, Min-ji (October 28, 2020). SM 이수만 "에스파, 현실-가상세계 초월한 혁신적 그룹" [SM Lee Soo-man "Aespa, Real-Virtual Innovative Group"]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Hakyung Kate (June 20, 2021). "New K-pop girl group Aespa sets 100 million-view record". ABC News. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Na-yul (October 28, 2020). 이수만 총괄 프로듀서, 제1회 세계문화산업포럼서 기조 연설..韓 문화계 대표 [Producer Lee Soo-man Delivered a Keynote Speech at the First World Cultural Industry Forum..A Representative of the Korean Cultural Community]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Young-jin (October 28, 2020). SM 이수만 프로듀서, 제1회 세계문화산업포럼서 기조연설…에스파 언급 [Producer Lee Soo-man of SM, Keynote Speech at the First World Culture Industry Forum...Mentioned Aespa]. Asia Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Choi, Ji-ye (October 28, 2020). 이수만 "에스파, 현실과 가상 초월한 새롭고 혁신적인 그룹" [Lee Soo-man "Aespa, A New and Innovative Group that Transcends Reality and Virtual"]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Moon, Wan-sik (October 28, 2020). 이수만 "걸그룹 에스파, 미래 엔터테인먼트 시작을 열게 될 SMCU 첫 프로젝트" [Lee Soo-man, "Girl Group Aespa, SMCU's First Project to Open Future Entertainment"]. StarNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Kang, Bo-ra (October 28, 2020). 이수만 "에스파, 현실과 가상 경계 초월한 그룹" 韓 문화계 대표로 기조연설 [Lee Soo-man's Keynote Speech as Head of Korean Cultural Community "Aespa, The Group Across Real and Virtual Boundary"]. Single List (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Choi, Hee-jae (October 28, 2020). 이수만 "新걸그룹 에스파, 현실세계 아티스트·가상세계 아바타가 멤버로 활동" [Lee Soo-man "New Girl Group Aespa, Real World Artist and Virtual World Avatar are Active Members"]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Hwang, Hye-jin (November 12, 2020). SM, UAM 드론택시 시연비행 행사 엔터테인먼트사 중 유일하게 참석 [SM is the Only Entertainment Company to Attend the UAM Drone Taxi Demonstration Event]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Eun-ae (November 12, 2020). SM, UAM 드론택시 시연비행 행사에 엔터테인먼트사 중 유일히 참석 [SM, UAM is the Only Entertainment Company to Attend a Demonstration Flight Event for Drone Taxis]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Yoo, Byung-chul (November 12, 2020). SM, UAM 드론택시 시연비행 행사에 엔터테인먼트사 중 유일하게 참석 [SM, The Only Entertainment Company to Attend a Demonstration Flight Event for UAM Drone Taxis]. Korea Economic TV (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Chun, Yun-hye (November 13, 2020). 슈주 시원, SM 이성수 대표와 '한·세계화상 비즈니스위크' 포럼 참석..K-POP 알리는 연설 [Siwon of Super Junior, Lee Sung-soo the CEO of SM, Attends the 'Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week' Forum.. K-POP Announcement Speech]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Eun-ae (November 13, 2020). SM 이성수 대표・슈퍼주니어 시원, 韓 문화업계 대표로 '한·세계화상 비즈니스위크' 참석 [CEO Lee Sung-soo of SM, Siwon of Super Junior, and CEO of the Korean Cultural Industry Attended the 'Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week']. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Myung-mi (November 13, 2020). 슈주 시원-SM 이성수 대표, 韓 문화 업계 대표로 나섰다 [Super Junior Si-won and SM CEO Lee Sung-soo Came Forward as Representatives of the Korean Culture Industry]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Hyun-jung (November 13, 2020). 최시원, '2020 한·세계화상 비즈니스위크' 연설…글로벌 K-POP 알리다 [Choi Si-won Addresses 'Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week 2020'…Global K-POP Announcement]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Min-ji (November 13, 2020). SM 이성수 대표·슈퍼주니어 시원, '2020 한·세계화상 비즈니스위크' 참석 [Lee Sung-soo, CEO of SM, Siwon of Super Junior will Attend the 'Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week 2020']. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Yoo, Byung-chul (November 13, 2020). SM엔터테인먼트 이성수 대표X슈퍼주니어 시원, '2020 한·세계화상 비즈니스위크' 참석 [SM Entertainment CEO Lee Sung-soo X Super Junior's Siwon will Attend the 'Korea-World Chinese Entrepreneurs Business Week 2020']. Korea Economic TV (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ "SM Entertainment-KAIST metaverse MOU". Yonhap News Agency. June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Bo-gyung (January 20, 2020). "[Diplomatic circuit] K-pop, soft power experts pin innovation as key to sustain momentum". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ↑ "KAIST teams up with SM Entertainment for metaverse research". Yonhap News Agency. June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021 – via The Korea Herald.
- ↑ Jeon, Han-wool (June 24, 2021). KAIST, SM 엔터테인먼트와 '메타버스 연구' MOU 체결 [KAIST Signs MOU with SM Entertainment for 'Metaverse Research']. E News Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Young-joon (June 24, 2021). KAIST-SM 엔터테인먼트, 신시대 조류 '메타버스' 구축에 협력 [KAIST-SM Entertainment, Cooperation in Building a New Era Trend 'Metaverse']. ETNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Yoo, Yong-seok (June 24, 2021). [포토]NCT, 회장님과 함께하는 토크쇼 [[Photo]NCT, Talk Show with Chairman]. Star Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Kwak, Hyun-soo (June 29, 2021). 'SM CONGRESS 2021' 이수만 "SM 킬러 콘텐츠 값어치 더 커질 것" [Lee Soo-man on 'SM CONGRESS 2021' said, "SM Killer Content Will Be Bigger"]. YTN Star (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Hwang, Ji-young (June 29, 2021). SM 이수만 "에스파에 고기 사주겠다" [SM Lee Soo-man said, "I'll buy you meat Aespa"]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Min-ji (June 29, 2021). 이수만 "에스파 세계관, 할리우드 영화화 이야기 오가고 있어" [Lee Soo-man "Aespa's Worldview, Talking About Making a Hollywood Movie which is Coming and Going"]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Herman, Tamar (June 29, 2021). "New music from NCT, Aespa and other K-pop acts coming in 2021, says SM Entertainment as label teases multimedia SMCU concept". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ↑ Goo, Woong (July 1, 2021). 대구시, 세계문화산업포럼 통해 문화산업 중심도시로 도약 [Daegu City, Leaps Into the Center of Cultural Industry Through the World Culture Industry Forum]. Job Post (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Jang-wook (June 25, 2021). '제2회 세계문화산업포럼', 내달 1일 대구서 열려 [The 'Second World Cultural Industry Forum' will be Held in Daegu on the First of Next Month]. Financial News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Oh, Ba-ram (July 1, 2021). 이수만 "한국, 문화와 기술 시너지에서 '퍼스트 무버' 돼야" [Lee Soo-man "Korea Should be the 'First Mover' in Cultural and Technological Synergies"]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Hwa-sup (July 1, 2021). SM 이수만 "전 세계 문화로 연결 미래 엔터테인먼트 세상 추진" [SM's Lee Soo-man "Promoting the Future Entertainment World Connected with Global Culture"]. Maeil Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ SM 이수만 "미래엔 콘텐츠가 자산…K팝 소장가치 확신" [Lee Soo-man of SM "In the Future, Content will be Assets...Confidence in the Value of K-Pop Collection"]. Sports World (in Korean). July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ "Red Velvet reveals SMCU's first comics content". AsiaToday (in Korean). November 9, 2022. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Nate.
- ↑ Baek, Yong-hee (October 28, 2020). 이수만 총괄 프로듀서, 제1회 세계문화산업포럼 韓 문화계 대표 인사로 기조연설 참석 [Executive Producer Lee Soo-man, Attending the First World Cultural Industry Forum, Representative of the Korean Cultural Community Gives Keynote Speech]. Market News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Sung, Jung-eun (October 28, 2020). 이수만 "걸그룹 에스파, 현실세계와 가상세계 초월한 혁신적 그룹" [Lee Soo-man "Girl Group Aespa, Innovative Group Beyond the Real World and Virtual World"]. Maeil Business Newspaper Star Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Kwon, Soo-bin (October 28, 2020). 이수만 설명한 에스파 세계관 "현실X아바타 멤버의 컬래버" [The Aespa Worldview "Reality X Avatar Member's Collaboration" Explained by Lee Soo-man]. News Culture (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Jung, Hee-yeon (October 28, 2020). 이수만이 직접 밝힌 新 그룹 에스파의 미래 ft.가상세계 [Future ft.Virtual World of Aespa, A New Group that Lee Soo-man Himself Revealed]. Sports Dong-A (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Hwang, Ji-young (October 28, 2020). SM 이수만 "에스파, 현실과 가상 초월한 혁신적 그룹" [SM Lee Soo-man "Aespa, Innovative Group Beyond Reality and Virtual"]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Min-ji (May 15, 2021). '컴백' 에스파, 세계관 스토리 담은 SMCU 영상 공개! [Aespa's 'Comeback', SMCU's Worldview Story Video will be Released!]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ↑ Son, Jin-ah (June 29, 2021). 이수만 "비빔밥 맛보면 SMP 이해 가능…에스파 세계관 할리우드 영화화 논의" [Lee Soo-man said, "If you taste Bibimbap, you can understand SMP...Aespa Worldview Hollywood Movieization Discussion"]. MK Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- 1 2 Bell, Crystal (May 20, 2021). "Rising K-Pop Group aespa's Concept Ties in Digital Culture, the SM Universe, and More". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Ju-young (December 17, 2020). 현실과 가상 속 자아-이제는 메타버스 시대 [The Self in Reality and Virtual Reality-Now the Metaverse Era]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Sang, Hyun-ho (June 28, 2021). [리부트] 에스파→엑소→엔시티 유→엔시티 드림까지 SM세계관 잇는 '이것'? [[Reboot] 'This' Connects Aespa→EXO→NCT U→NCT DREAM to SM World?]. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ↑ Raj, Tanu. "How Aespa Is Challenging K-Pop's Boundaries With AI Members". Nylon. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Eun-ho (May 28, 2021). 한 큐에 끝내는 '에스파 세계관' ['Aespa Worldview' that Ends in One Queue]. Kuki News (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ "1001 từ khóa trong SM Culture Universe (vũ trụ văn hóa SM) cần được giải mã" [1001 Keywords in SM Culture Universe that Needs to be Decoded]. Billboard Việt Nam (in Vietnamese). May 18, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Yeon-ji (May 27, 2021). [뮤직IS] 에스파 메타버스 세계관으로 증명한 SM의 기획력 [[MusicIS] SM's Planning Power Proved by Aespa's Metaverse Worldview]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021 – via Nate Entertainment.
- ↑ Park, Jin-ah (November 13, 2020). "SM 걸그룹 '에스파' 단체 사진이 공개됐습니다.그런데 멤버 수가 이상합니다..." ["The group photo of SM girl group 'Aespa' has been released. But the number of members is strange..."]. WikiTree (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Hong, Dam-young (November 18, 2020). "S.M.'s virtual hybrid girl group aespa makes grand debut". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ MCU만큼 흥미로운 '에스파'의 세계관 [The Worldview of 'Aespa' is as Interesting as the MCU]. Harper's Bazaar Korea (in Korean). May 25, 2021. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Kang, Young-woon (March 2, 2021). [단독인터뷰] '1억 조회' 돌파 걸그룹 에스파, 4인조라더니…"아바타 4명 추가요" [[Single Interview] '100 Million Views' Girl Group Aespa, Said that It was a Four-member Group…"Add 4 Avatars"]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ De Luna, Elizabeth (17 May 2021). "Aespa Explained Their Complex Concept and Celebrated New Song "Next Level"". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
- ↑ Sang, Hyun-ho (June 29, 2021). 소녀시대-동방신기-레드벨벳도 광야로?…SM, 세계관 확장 행보 이어가 [Girls' Generation-TVXQ-Red Velvet Into Kwangya?…SM Continues to Expand its Worldview]. Top Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ↑ Gong, Mi-na (October 31, 2020). 음원강자부터 대형신인까지..11월은 걸그룹 '전쟁터' [From Music Powerhouses to Big Rookies..November is the Girl Group's 'Battlefield']. StarNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Gong, Mi-na (November 17, 2020). SM의 새로운 실험..에스파, 아바타와 강렬 데뷔 '블랙 맘바'[6시★살롱] [SM's New Experiment..Aespa, Avatar, and Intense Debut 'Black Mamba']. StarNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Sun-woo (November 2, 2020). "현실X아바타 컬래버" SM 新걸그룹 에스파, SMCU 세계관 통할까[SS뮤직] ["Real X Avatar Collaboration" SM New Girl Group Aespa, Will SMCU's Worldview Penetrate [SSMusic]]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Lee, Jae-hoon (November 15, 2020). [초점]SM 걸그룹 '에스파', 개인맞춤형 '아바타 실험' 성공할까 [[Focus] Will SM Girl Group 'Aespa' Succeed, Personalized 'Avatar Experiment']. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Jung, Yu-jin (November 17, 2020). '색다른 맛'의 가요계 도전장…에스파는 아바타, 스테이씨는 향기 [A Challenge in the Music Industry of 'A Different Taste'…Aespa is Avatar, StayC is Scent]. SPOTV News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Jang, Jin-ri (November 22, 2020). 슈퍼엠→에스파→보아…SM, '한국판 마블' 꿈꾸는 SMCU의 출발[이슈S] [SuperM→Aespa→BoA…SM's Dreaming of Korean Marvel Version [Issue S]]. SPOTV News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ↑ Kim, Do-heon (July 8, 2021). '아바타' 걸그룹·인공지능 목소리, 케이팝 시장이 달라졌다 ['Avatar' Girl Group, AI voice, the K-Pop Market has Changed]. OhmyStar (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.