Lee Soo-man promotes AI-driven storytelling format merging animation, music and metaverse
While K-pop continues to thrive globally, industry heavyweights are proposing various paths for its next evolution.
Hybe Chair Bang Si-hyuk and JYP Entertainment founder J.Y. Park advocate for the localization of K-pop’s production model — applying the genre’s rigorous training and talent development system to debut locally based idol groups around the world.
SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man, now a visionary leader at Singapore-based A20 Entertainment, agrees with the system’s importance but offers specific detail: storytelling content powered by artificial intelligence and what he calls “culture technology.”
During his keynote speech at the 26th International Society for Music Information Retrieval Conference held at KAIST campus in Daejeon, Sept. 22, Lee stressed the AI’s role in shaping the future of K-pop. In his keynote speech titled “Culture Technology in the Age of AI, ” he highlighted how culture technology systematizes four key stages: casting, training, music production and marketing. Citing figures such as J.Y. Park, esteemed K-pop producer Teddy and film director Bong Joon-ho, he emphasized that Korea should now establish itself as a “nation of producers.”
“AI ultimately depends on human creativity,” Lee said. “Technology amplifies creativity and becomes a tool to connect humanity.”
On Thursday, Lee introduced his new mixed-content production method, CAWMAN, through the short-form series “A20 May Story,” featuring A20 Entertainment’s girl group A20 May. The CAWMAN format — an acronym for cartoon, animation, webtoon, motion graphic, avatar and novel — integrates multiple media formats to create the A20 metaverse origin story, or MOS.
The MOS world, produced in the CAWMAN style, will expand through a series of short-form episodes exploring different narratives and characters, offering what A20 Entertainment calls a “new futuristic content experience” for global fans.
“A20 May Story” follows five members who come together to form A20 May, set in the fictional A20 School. It also depicts the story of LTG (Low Teen Girls), a rookie group that admires the A20 May members as top campus celebrities. The storyline connects to the group’s music video “B.B.B,” released in August, and delves deeper into “Soulite,” one of the key multiverse planets in A20’s “Genesis” storyline.
The global version of the series includes English narration and subtitles in seven languages — Korean, English, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese and Spanish — to make it more accessible to international viewers.
However, this integration of storytelling and conceptual worldbuilding is not entirely new. During his tenure as SM Entertainment’s executive producer, Lee developed the expansive SM Culture Universe and introduced the “Kwangya” metaverse concept in 2022, which connected the identities and narratives of artists under SM Entertainment.
Critics, however, say Lee’s latest CAWMAN model and AI-driven approach remain difficult to evaluate. Even SM artists have publicly admitted to struggling to fully grasp the complexity of Kwangya’s lore. Winter, a member of the popular girl group aespa, revealed in a YouTube interview in July that she had to attend classes on the Kwangya storyline before debut and take additional lessons whenever updates were introduced.
Despite the uncertainty, fan response to A20 Entertainment’s new content has been enthusiastic. Following the release of the Chinese-language version on Thursday, “A20 May Story” drew positive responses on Chinese social platforms Weibo and Bilibili.
