South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom has introduced a new K-pop fan community space on its metaverse platform, ifland. Conceptualized as a 99-floor hotel, this space allows K-pop artists and their global fans to meet and interact. The homepage provides information on which artists have checked in on which floors, enhancing the fan experience.
The service launched with SM Entertainment’s aespa on the 99th floor, offering artist lounges and member rooms with interactive content such as secret quizzes and 3D motion displays. Future updates will include AI integration and fan missions to advance K-pop culture and deepen fan engagement.
Starting Monday, SK Telecom’s ifland will offer a fan community service featuring hotel-style spaces where fans can meet various K-pop groups and solo artists on each floor.
The first guest will be SM Entertainment’s girl group, Aespa, on the 99th floor. The virtual girl group Iflandies will be on the second floor. Rookie boy bands Riize and Sandara Park are also scheduled to join, with Riize checking in by the end of the month and Sandara Park in September.
Yang Maeng-seog, head of metaverse operations at SK Telecom, highlighted that the platform will feature three-dimensional artist-related content and fan missions to enhance communication between fans and artists. Customization options in the K-pop hotel spaces will include mannequins in the artist lounge, allowing fans to dress them in various costumes, further personalizing their experience.
In the artist lounge, fans can engage with a variety of content, including artist boards, a large art wall, and volumetric features. The member rooms offer exclusive content, such as a secret frame that is revealed after solving a quiz related to the member and the artist’s volumetric 3D motion, which changes over time. These interactive elements are designed to enhance fan engagement and provide a unique experience within the metaverse.
SK Telecom plans to enhance the K-pop hotel service by integrating artificial intelligence and introducing various fan missions. These missions, assigned every two to three weeks, will offer prizes such as signed CDs or invitations to meet-and-greet events with the artists.
“Three-dimensional artist-related content and fan missions on our platform ifland will bolster communication between fans and artists, and among fans themselves,” said Yang Maeng-seog, head of metaverse operations at SK Telecom. He emphasized that the K-pop Hotel aims to become a new global hub for fans and artists to connect, fostering the next generation of K-pop culture through innovative technology and interactive experiences.
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