There’s a certain emotional alchemy that only happens when you share the same physical space with your favorite idol. Otherwise, why would anyone pay an arm and a leg for a concert when you could just watch a YouTube livestream from the comfort of your room?


That’s why more than ten thousand fans packed into the cavernous, four-story Gocheok Sky Dome and went wild — absolutely wild, even by K-pop standards — when girl group Isegye Idol appeared on stage on Saturday, as the headliner of the Isegye Festival.


Except, the virtual sextet didn’t exactly need a physical form to ignite the hype.

Projected onto a massive LED screen while real performers equipped with motion-capture gadgets brought anime-like avatars to life somewhere hidden behind, the digital divas obviously couldn’t step onto the thrust stage or march into the crowd — but that hardly mattered.


“The theme of today’s concert is, as you may have expected, ‘Be my light,’” said member Lilpa, following an intense opening of “Lockdown” (2023) and “Kidding” (2023), met with roof-raising cheers.


“This concert is for you, who always make Isegye Idol shine so brightly.”

The group made history as the first virtual act to perform at Gocheok Sky Dome, one of Korea’s largest indoor concert venues, with a capacity to accommodate around 16,000 people. Even considering that there must’ve been fans of other acts on the Isegye Festival lineup such as BoyNextDoor and tripleS, that is certainly a feat, as the four-tier venue was packed with almost every attendee holding the group’s lightsticks.


“I’ve dreamed of the day we would finally meet you at the Gocheok Sky Dome,” said Jingburger, looking across the sea of glowing lights filling the dome.


“And here we are, it’s a dream come true.”


Fans were quite emotional too, looking back on the journey of Isegye Idol, which first came to be through an audition program by streamer Woowakgood, who became the producer of the group.

“I was really emotional about the fact that Isegye Idol is performing at the Gocheok Dome,” said a concert attendee surnamed Shin whose bias — favorite member — is Viichan.


The 20-year-old has been a fan since the group’s debut in 2021, and has followed their journey ever since.


“I’m really looking forward to what kind of performances all six members are going to show,” he said.


“The reason I wanted to come to the concert is obviously because I get to see my favorite member up close,” said another fan who wished to be identified by his nickname Bakgicheokja.


The 19-year-old, whose favorite member is Lilpa, regrettably couldn’t get a ticket this time but came to Gocheok anyway to meet with friends and just soak in the atmosphere outside the venue.

“At the concert, you could enjoy the live performance and chant alongside fellow fans — feeling close to each other,” said the Lilpa fan, recalling his fond memories of attending the first Isegye Festival two years ago, and his favorite idol’s solo concert last year.


For those wondering, “What does he mean by ‘up close’ when the performers are basically 2-D projections on screen?” — well, here is how the night went.


At the center of the expansive LED display, where real-life performers stand, life-size avatars appeared on a slightly protruding section of the screen designed to add a sense of depth and perspective. They danced and sang live with typical K-pop idol-like synchronicity, every little detail — such as the movement of fingers, fluttering of hair and skirts and subtle facial expressions — rendered in stunning articulacy.

Although the life-size figures were 2-D projections, just like the close-ups on the side screens, it felt like they were the “real” ones, making fans squint their eyes to see the live performance happening at the center of the stage.


Parable Entertainment, the agency behind the girl group, meticulously created an illusion that made everything look and feel as real as possible, but also fully leveraged on the group’s virtual aspects.


Typical idols can only manage no more than three or four style changes during a concert. The members of Isegye Idol, however, transformed their looks for almost every single stage, and their hair length also changed freely from shoulder-length cuts to wavy long curls that reach down to their waist.


However, although we can go on and on about the technological craftsmanship, from the lighting and the frame rate — that’s honestly beside the point.


Everything in the show felt as real as it could get, and that was because of the human connection.


The zeal, the excitement, the emotions, it was almost palpable. Fans, dubbed “Ipari,” were buzzing with joy, erupting into thunderous chants of “Isedol! Isedol!” — an affectionate nickname of the group — after nearly every stage, which rarely happens even at some of the most popular K-pop acts’ concerts.

The finale of the night came by the end of the concert, where the members read their handwritten letters for fans, some tearing up amid a swirl of emotions.


“The usual Jururu will always be 17, but I’m so grateful that you are the ones who will remember the final days of my twenties that shone so brightly,” shared Jururu, in a trembling voice.


“I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life.”


We can of course debate the illusion of authenticity all day, but maybe that’s best left to the philosophers — because even if the teardrops couldn’t be rendered, who could dare say their tears of joy weren’t real?

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]