You may now call K-pop group Big Bang’s G-Dragon as Professor Kwon.
G-Dragon (real name Kwon Ji-yong) has been appointed as a visiting professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Department of Mechanical Engineering in South Korea.
G-Dragong at the awarding of his appointment letter as KAIST visiting professor on June 5 (Screenshot from Behind Press video on YouTube)
The awarding of the appointment letter to Professor Kwon Ji-yong was held during the “Innovate Korea 2024” event at KAIST on June 5.
A visiting professor is someone who teaches at a university under a short-term contract.
The appointment was meant to expand the global competitiveness of Korean culture by applying the latest science and technology developed at KAIST to K-content and the cultural industry, Korean media reported.
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea (Photo from KAIST website)
“Through this appointment, we expect to contribute to market innovation through ‘entertech’ research and development and to the global spread and growth of K-culture,” said Galaxy Corporation, G-Dragon’s agency.
Entertech is a combination of entertainment and technology, which refers to an industry that creates new added value by combining ICT with intellectual property rights (IP) and content, which are the core values of entertainment.
G-Dragon, as Professor Kwon, is scheduled to give a special lecture on leadership for undergraduate and graduate students. The purpose is to share the experience and life of a an artist to provide KAIST students with vision and insight into the world, as well as challenges and inspiration to pioneer their own fields.
Cultural events will also be held to provide artistic experiences necessary to grow into creative and integrated talents.
Galaxy Corporation and KAIST will also pursue research through the KAIST-Galaxy Corporation Entertech Research Center within the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Galaxy Corporation is an “entertech” company that is pioneering a new content market by combining IP (intellectual property rights) with the latest digital technologies such as metaverse, avatars, and artificial intelligence (AI). It produced Netflix’s “'Physical: 100” season 2
“It is an honor to be a visiting professor at KAIST, which produces many scientific geniuses. I look forward to a great synergy, or ‘big bang,’ by meeting the best science and technology experts and my entertainment specialty,” said G-Dragon.
He added, “The number of people working with artificial intelligence in the music field is increasing, and these cutting-edge technologies are enabling more diverse forms of creative work. Through the artificial intelligence avatar developed jointly by Galaxy Corporation and KAIST, we will meet each other often.”
“I want to communicate more closely with fans around the world who cannot,” he said.
G-Dragon’s appointment as KAIST visiting professor will be until June 2026.