Virtual Idols to Drive K-Pop Market in 2025 as Major Agencies Enter the Scene

Virtual idols are expected to lead the K-Pop industry in 2025. Once considered a niche phenomenon, virtual idols have now entered the mainstream K-Pop market, with major agencies preparing to make significant entries. PLAVE, the company that pioneered the K-Pop virtual idol market, is set to release its third mini-album, “Caligo Pt.1,” on February 3. Composed of five members, PLAVE debuted in 2023 with “Wait for you,” sparking a virtual idol craze and writing a success story. All seven songs released in their debut year entered the Melon chart, and their first mini-album, “ASTERUM : The Shape of Things to Come,” sold over 200,000 copies in its first week, becoming the first virtual idol album to achieve this milestone. Their digital single “Pump Up The Volume!” released in August topped both the Melon HOT100 and TOP100 charts on its debut day and won a music show award. PLAVE also entered Melon’s “Billions Club” (1 billion cumulative streams), reportedly doing so faster than NewJeans, who previously held the record at 498 days. Major agencies are also entering the virtual idol market one after another. SM Entertainment’s first virtual idol, NAIVIS, officially debuted on September 10 with the single “Done,” surpassing 1 million views on YouTube within a week. NAIVIS was created entirely using artificial intelligence and is designed for both 2D and 3D performances. SM has positioned NAIVIS as a virtual assistant in the virtual world of aespa and plans to develop it as a flexible character suitable for various platforms and content. NAIVIS also contributed to “Welcome to My World,” a track from aespa’s third EP, “My World.” HYBE launched Syndi8, a 2D virtual girl group consisting of four members, in June. Meanwhile, the project group Issegye Idol, created by YouTuber WooWakGood, built a strong fanbase after debuting with the single “RE: WIND” in 2021. The six-member group held its first offline pop-up store at Hyundai Seoul Yeongdeungpo Branch for two weeks in February 2024. According to Hyundai Department Store, this pop-up store generated the highest sales among all pop-up stores at the Yeongdeungpo branch that year, accumulating 3.8 billion won in revenue. Issegye Idol is set to release its fourth single in 2025. New virtual idols are also continuing to debut. SKINZ, a seven-member male group created by Bridge Entertainment, is scheduled to make its debut with an album this year, and the group released a Teaser last month during an SBS year-end special program. Virtual idols can be divided into two types: those that combine real people behind the scenes with virtual characters, and those created purely through artificial intelligence. The industry is watching to see how major agencies’ virtual idols will reshape the domestic virtual artist market, with their success ultimately depending on how effectively human elements can be integrated into these virtual personas.