G-Dragon appointed professor at KAIST

G-Dragon shakes hands with KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyun during his appointment as a visiting professor at KAIST at the Innovate Korea forum held at the KAIST campus in Daejeon, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

K-pop singer G-Dragon of Big Bang was named a visiting professor of the department of mechanical engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), on Wednesday. The singer‘s appointment is aimed at expanding the global competitiveness of Korean culture by incorporating the latest science and technology developed at KAIST into K-content, according to KAIST.

“I am honored to be a visiting professor at KAIST, a school that produces many scientific geniuses. I look forward to the great synergy between the best science and technology experts and my entertainment expertise,” said G-Dragon at the Innovate Korea forum jointly hosted by Herald Media Group, KAIST and the National Research Council of Science and Technology, at the KAIST campus in Daejeon, Wednesday.

"Professor Kwon (G-Dragon) plans to collaborate on digital twin technology research for Hallyu artists, research on convergence of K-culture and technologies such as artificial intelligence, robots and metaverse, and develop artist avatars using the latest technologies such as volumetrics, motion capture and haptics at the KAIST-Galaxy Corporation Enter-tech (Entertainment and Technology) Research Center (tentative name) to be established within the department of mechanical engineering at KAIST," KAIST said Wednesday.

G-Dragon (center) speaks during a panel discussion about the future of entertainment technology at the Innovate Korea forum held at the KAIST campus in Daejeon, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

The singer will give lectures on leadership to undergraduate and graduate students for the next two years. He will share his experiences as a world-renowned artist to inspire students with his vision and insight into the world. G-Dragon’s artistic experience will help students grow as creative and interdisciplinary talents, the institution said.

In the meantime, G-Dragon will also work as a KAIST global ambassador to help promote the university abroad.

In January, the singer made a surprise appearance at CES 2024, the world's largest IT and consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, alongside Galaxy Corporation.

He is also preparing for his comeback with a new solo album set to be revealed in the second half of this year. It will be his first solo album in about seven years. His last mini album “Kwon Ji Yong” was released in 2017.

By Kim Jae-heun(jaaykim@heraldcorp.com)