SEOUL – In a large studio on the outskirts of Seoul, technicians huddled in front of monitors, watching cartoonish K-pop singers, at least one of whom had a tail, dance in front of a psychedelic backdrop. . A woman with fairy wings fluttered.

Everyone on the screen was real, more or less. The singers had human counterparts in the studio, isolated in cubicles, with headphones on their faces and joysticks in both hands. Immersed in a virtual world, they were competing to become part (hopefully) of South Korea’s next big girl band.

The stakes were high. Some of his competitors, after failing the cut, had been thrown into the bubbling lava.

This, some say, is the future of entertainment in the metaverse, brought to you by South Korea, the world’s testing ground for all things…