Entertainment

When Tech, Gaming, and K-Pop Collide

Not only sweeping music charts, but also dominating the tech and gaming partnership scene
Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

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I am so like a broken record for always saying that I’m one among the “veterans” who witnessed the early rise of K-Pop way back in 2009. This also means I’m no stranger when it comes to seeing K-Pop artists endorse a particular brand and/or product.

From the introduction of Samsung’s first AMOLED phone with After School x Son Dam Bi, LG’s Lollipop with 2NE1 x BIGBANG, SNSD (or Girls’ Generation)’s numerous collaboration with Intel and LG, all the way to Samsung introducing the BLACKPINK Edition Samsung Galaxy A80 as well as Galaxy S20+’s BTS Edition, these are solid testaments that tech x K-Pop partnerships have always been a thing and continues to exist as K-Pop grows every single year.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Fast Forward this 2023, the K-Pop scene has truly taken the world by storm. A lot of people not only started to enjoy listening to K-Pop without that unnecessary judgment. They also adore groups left and right to the point where every single K-Pop fandom has grown exponentially in a short time.

Brands have had the perfect opportunity to tap idol groups to showcase their tech or game for the masses to see and enjoy. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved — K-Pop stars, fandom, entertainment agencies, and companies altogether.

NewJeans

Without a doubt, NewJeans is K-Pop’s hottest group right now. That’s with the fact that the group is just a year old who made their surprise debut last July 2022.

Aside from sweeping music charts and being the fastest girl group to bag numerous Daesang/대상 (grand prizes) in major music awards shows, NewJeans has also topped the collaborations list with their numerous brand partnerships.

Luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Armani Beauty (Hanni), Dior (Haerin), Burberry + YSL Beauty (Danielle), Chanel (Minji) and Louis Vuitton (Hyein) are for another story. The biggest tech brands and a gaming company were all-in for these power “rookies”.

‘ETA’ Music Video #ShotOniPhone

After several unpaid brand placements of iPhones and Apple products on NewJeans’ several music videos, a partnership between the two has finally happened.

NewJeans iPhone

Despite being a Korean group, their agency ADOR (under HYBE Labels) chose Apple instead for this very special collaboration.

But it’s not just all about showing last year’s iPhones. The team actually used an iPhone 14 Pro to showcase its capabilities when it comes to mobile videography.

ICYMI, you can watch the whole #ShotoniPhone music video here (after reading the article of course):

READ MORE: NewJeans’ new MV is shot entirely on an iPhone 14 Pro

League of Legends + GODS

Both K-Pop and League of Legends are already well-known way before the pandemic has even started.

But admit it or not, the volume of K-Pop fans peaked over the course of the pandemic. The same thing can be said with the amount of gamers the world has today.

Released just last October 2023, NewJeans partnered with Riot Games to sing ‘GODS’ — the official anthem for League of Legends’ Worlds 2023. And if the music video isn’t enough, you can also watch how all of them ate the stage with this special collaborative track.

 

Fun fact: Much like NewJeans topping music charts, South Korea’s very own T1 (headlined by Faker) also topped this year’s LoL championship. It was also evident when Keria fanboyed for the group — but hilariously showed no expressions during their photo opportunity with the girls.

LG gram Style NewJeans Edition

Last but definitely not the least is brand from the hometown of K-Pop itself — LG Electronics.

Even though they have stopped selling smartphones for good, LG is unstoppable when it comes to bringing innovative products in their lineup — the LG gram included.

While this special edition meant a cutesy 2023 LG gram with NewJeans decals, it also serves as a cool collector’s item for any Bunnies out there. The limited edition laptop also comes with exclusive goodies.

Specs-wise, it’s also no slouch as it packs a powerful hardware despite being slim and ultra-light.

READ MORE: LG just launched a limited edition NewJeans laptop

BONUS: NewJeans Pop-Ups

LINE

Being one of the leading messaging platforms in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia, it makes sense that LINE launched several NewJeans pop-up stores around Asia.

 

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For Bunnies who happened to be hardcore merch collectors, this collection was a real heaven (but hellish for your wallets with the staggering amount of price tags).

Spotify

Coincidentally during the course of Rodneil’s South Korea visit during the August 2023 Galaxy Unpacked, it was also the time when Spotify launched special “Bunnyland” pop-ups both in Seoul and Jakarta.

 

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A post shared by Rodneil Quiteles (@rodneil)

LE SSERAFIM x Overwatch 2

Also one of the hottest K-Pop acts right now is none other than LE SSERAFIM.

Being another group from HYBE Labels (under Source Music), it makes sense for them to have the same partnership treatment as NewJeans — but with a different game publisher.

Overwatch 2 | LE SSERAFIM

However, unlike League of Legends which is an old MOBA game released way back in 2009, Overwatch 2 is an FPS game released by Blizzard Entertainment just last 2022.

And just like how perfectly-aligned this collaboration was, it’s also the perfect time for you to listen to ‘Perfect Night’ if you still haven’t.

P.S: It’s a full English track and is easy on the ears.

READ MORE: Overwatch 2, LE SSERAFIM team-up to give us a ‘Perfect Night’

ITZY

The third on this list is ITZY — JYP Entertainment’s second active girl group since TWICE (and the company’s fourth girl group if we will include Wonder Girls and miss A).

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Mobile Legends ITZY

Shanghai’s Moonton Games made ITZY as the new ambassador of their ever-popular MOBA game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB). But unlike the two groups aforementioned, ITZY just showed a short yet sweet-sounding collaborative track (more like a snippet).

For MIDZYs who are also hardcore MLBB players, they actually made users avail exclusive ALLSTAR rewards with a pretty hefty amount of diamonds plus special skins.

READ MORE: Mobile Legends welcomes ITZY as ambassadors

Casio

The Japanese watch maker wouldn’t miss out on bringing a special partnership with this very special K-Pop group.

ITZY G-SHOCK

ITZY were named as the company’s new ambassador for their globally-renowned G-SHOCK line — much like how ITZY served as a global sensation K-Pop group.

With five members in the roster, Casio has also made five different collections for everyone to choose.

READ MORE: ITZY named Casio G-SHOCK ambassador 

Jisoo (BLACKPINK) x Dyson

Just right before 2023 ends, Dyson has surprised BLINKs by making Jisoo as the brand’s new ambassador.

Jisoo for Dyson

Much like her debut solo track ‘꽃’ (which also translates to flower), Dyson has released an exclusive, limited-edition AirWrap Multi Styler in the Ceramic Pop colorway that exudes beauty and elegance like Jisoo and any flower in existence.

READ MORE: Jisoo of BLACKPINK is new Dyson Ambassador

Samsung

It would be a complete miss if South Korea’s largest tech brand would not choose to collaborate with their country’s hottest and brightest K-Pop stars.

IVE x Galaxy S23

Remember when BLACKPINK suddenly showed off the new Galaxy S9 phones in their “Kill This Love” music video? Well, Samsung isn’t a stranger to that.

This time around, the new Galaxy S23 phones were revealed in IVE’s ‘I AM’ music video out of nowhere (marked at 1:05). And to make it more Samsung-coded, the world “Galaxy” has been repeatedly used in the song’s chorus.

*BTW, this is actually the group’s third comeback track and not a special collaboration song.

BTS x Galaxy Z Fold5/Z Flip5

Samsung is known for being the triumph brand when it comes to foldables — and some members of K-Pop’s triumph boy group attest to that Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5 superiority.

The Freestyle

With SUGA already being introduced, it’s also the right time to introduce Samsung’s small yet smart projector.

Initially released during CES 2022, The Freestyle is currently (and already) on its 2nd iteration.

Samsung chose SUGA as the core endorser of The Freestyle. It depicts the projector being able to be moved freely — anywhere you like.

It’s much like how the BTS member enjoys his own freedom and uses his free time by watching full-on entertainment with Samsung’s stylish projector aside from producing music.

Galaxy Buds2 Pro

As I already mentioned SUGA, his “Agust D” side is also known for being one among K-Pop’s best producers. It makes 100% sense why they chose him to be the main celebrity endorser of Samsung’s pioneering line of earbuds.

BONUS: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2023

During Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event last July 2023, some of the world-renowned K-Pop groups and members were invited during the unfolding of the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5.

Stray Kids, Jeongyeon (TWICE)

Jang Wonyoung (IVE)

SUGA (BTS)

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