AI K-Pop Startup Galaxy Aims for IPO in Seoul, New York

Humanoid robots dressed in black, luxury hip-hop outfits snap into formation, moving in perfect sync to K-pop songs. It’s a simulation inside an office styled as a crash-landed spacecraft in the heart of Seoul’s financial district, complete with towering astronauts and floating robotic jellyfish.

The performance is orchestrated by Choi Yong-ho, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Corp., a Seoul-based startup trying to disrupt K-pop’s traditional idol system — a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers.