As humanity continues to dwell on the digital Earth and more activities become possible in the metaverse, virtual human technology will rapidly advance, and the number of virtual humans that can be perfectly implemented by a small number of people will increase.
Somewhere along this journey of change, a time will arrive when an individual, leveraging the power of advanced technology, will be able to easily create and operate a virtual human.
In that era, the number of digital side characters and virtual humans will explode.
If we stretch our imagination a little further, the journey's final destination might be a reality straight out of a science fiction movie, where one user can control multiple virtual humans as if they were playing a game.
---From the "Prologue"

Among the many videos that have recently come up on my YouTube algorithm, the ones I've found particularly interesting are the "Squid Game" videos made by the MZ generation using Roblox.
Roblox is a representative metaverse platform based on games.
It is gaining phenomenal popularity because users can engage in creative and economic activities within the platform.
Even as someone working in the AI ​​industry, it was impressive to see the set in "Squid Game" realistically implemented with computer graphics (CG), the game rules created directly, and each user participating as an avatar and running around.
Among them, videos showing avatars wearing green training suits playing in a stadium with large doll robots, stopping and jumping repeatedly while the Korean phrase "The Rose of Sharon has bloomed" was played, received a lot of attention and recorded a lot of views.
As the games played in "Squid Game" were created as content by Roblox users and became popular, reactions followed that they were able to experience how the metaverse, a concept that was difficult to understand at first, works.
In this way, various metaverse platforms in the digital age are opening up new fields of communication and experience.
--- p.18~19

It has been over a year since Sidus Studio X's virtual humans, Rosie and Diovis Studio's Louie, were launched in succession.
While virtual influencers like Lil Miquela have been prominent overseas for years, it wasn't until 2021 that virtual humans gained traction in Korea, thanks to characters like Louie and Rosie.
In particular, it started to gain popularity on social media, especially among the MZ generation, and became known to the public through word of mouth.
These virtual humans are now actively engaged in various business fields, including advertising, public relations, and entertainment. As the MZ generation becomes a key trend-setter, virtual humans and virtual worlds are also becoming important industrial entities.
--- p.24

Lifelogging literally means 'recording one's life'.
However, it seems insufficient to view this as simply an act of self-expression and personal self-reflection.
We need to look more closely into human nature.
Humans have a desire to show themselves to others, and through this, to connect with others and expand relationships.
It means that humans inherently have a desire to engage in social networking.
According to social psychologists, humans have an evolutionary tendency toward 'groupishness'.
This is because the environment in which our ancestors lived from time immemorial required them to form groups and cooperate with each other, and to be able to distinguish between friend and foe, which would have been advantageous for survival.
What's interesting is that when humans form relationships with others, they want to feel a little more influential.
It means that people want others to pay attention to them and listen to their voices.
Whether they are politicians, celebrities, influencers, or ordinary people, they all have that desire.
The desire to influence others to expand relationships and solidify our group is a natural instinct imprinted in our DNA, linked to the competitive behavior of survival.
--- p.46~47

In short, the crucial difference between digital characters and virtual humans lies not in the creator's perspective, but in whether the user recognizes the character as a person or perceives it as a personal object with which to interact.
If we interpret this from a different perspective, if virtual humans become recognized as individuals by users, it could be seen as not much different from forming relationships with real people.
Already, numerous digital characters are being reborn as virtual humans, creating enormous added value for the industry.
Of course, there have been cases in the past where digital characters were reproduced as additional products and used as memes, but they failed to continue the character's own storytelling and form an interaction with the public within that storytelling.
But now, digital characters are becoming influencers and celebrities through social networking with the public.
--- p.79

Another reason to create virtual humans is that it allows companies to create the optimal model to represent their brand.
Typically, when a company selects an advertising model, they select the celebrity or influencer who best fits their brand.
However, as humans are not perfect, sometimes a company's model causes controversy, such as drunk driving or bullying, and when past problems such as school violence, bullying, gambling, and debt controversies are revealed, the company's image is greatly damaged.
Even if that weren't the problem, celebrities face the difficulty of having to find a new model after a certain contract period ends due to high portrait rights fees.
Not only do you have to pay for the portrait rights, but you also have to pay for the cost of producing the advertisement, and it costs a lot of money to distribute the advertisement to show it to a large number of people.
From a corporate standpoint, developing a single virtual human that perfectly fits their brand can help them avoid these ethical risks and significantly reduce advertising costs, which is why companies are increasingly showing interest in creating virtual humans.
--- p.104

A representative example of a virtual human that has attracted public attention with its strong and provocative character is the 'FN Mecha'. The FN Mecha, which is like a cyborg with a flashy style straight out of a science fiction movie, has a
The mere appearance itself is groundbreaking. FN Mecca is an AI robot rapper who once declared, "I am not accepted on this planet." FN Mecca has actually released a single and is active as a rapper. FN Mecca is known for posting provocative meme content, which often features violence, flaunting luxury brands, or sending sarcastic messages about specific people or brands.
If a real person had created this content, they would have been criticized or banned from doing anything.
However, because their identity as virtual humans is inherently free and unconventional, they are free from the harsh gaze of the public and social standards. FN Mecca primarily expresses themselves through short content posted on TikTok, where they have amassed approximately 10 million followers.
He has about 190,000 followers on Instagram.
This is a truly incredibly popular influencer.
--- p.110

If there's one expression that could most accurately describe our Diovis Studio's Louis, culturally and content-wise, it would be 'digital sub-character.'
Recently, the term 'bu-chae' has become very popular in Korea.
Originally, sub-character was an abbreviation for a newly created sub-character in addition to the main character used in an online game.
However, recently, the term "alt character" has been used to refer to a character seen outside of the game, that is, a character with a new look that is different from one's usual self.
If we were to express the word 'sub-character' in English, it could be expressed as 'sub-character' or 'alter ego', but it does not seem sufficient to convey the meaning of the multi-persona mentioned above.
The term "bu-chae" became widely recognized among the public in Korea when Yoo Jae-suk garnered attention by transforming into various characters such as Yoo San-seul, Jimmy Yoo, and Yoo Ya-ho on the MBC entertainment program "What Do You Do When You Play?"
Now, there are so many popular sub-characters of Yoo Jae-suk that there is even a term called 'YOONIVERSE'.
Although all the faces are the same, Yoo Jae-suk's, the series of interesting content is continuously produced with various characters with completely different personalities, expanding into one huge worldview.
--- p.162~163

In the early days of Diovis Studio's business, while researching the factors behind Pengsoo's success, we concluded that the secret to Pengsoo's success was the charm of his true self, the 'real character' hidden within his mask.
This is because Pengsoo's main character is outgoing, non-authoritarian, and well-liked by people.
I think the public found it more relatable and entertaining as the main character was caricatured as Pengsoo's comical image and presented as an entertaining episode.
Of course, this explanation of Pengsoo's body is not intended to infringe on Pengsoo's worldview.
I also think that Pengsoo is not a person wearing a penguin costume, but just Pengsoo himself.
It's an anecdote, but I wanted to know the secret to Pengsoo's success in detail, so I followed around and listened to the lectures of the PD who planned and produced 'Giant Peng TV'.
According to the lecture, EBS has actually planned and experimented with numerous content over a long period of time. It was truly remarkable that a legacy media company like EBS, especially one that produces educational broadcasts, would invest so much and take so much time to try something new in the new media realm.
In a way, EBS has been serious about 'digital transformation' from the beginning.
I also found the EBS management to be highly respectable for not avoiding change, which could only be perceived as threatening by legacy media, but rather for challenging it.
--- p.175~176

In 2021, I created not only Louis but also my sub-character, 'Hippo (@halmanhama).'
The full name of the virtual human 'Hippo' is 'Halman Hama', which means 'I have a lot to do, so I'll do it all' and 'I have a lot to say, so I'll do it all'.
This is a character who pursues self-realization and wants to do as many things as he wants, and at the same time, he is a refreshing character who speaks freely when he has something to say.
We have also created and provided virtual human content to several other companies.
Diovis Studio's BM is a 'virtual face distribution center'.
energy
When business customers access our company's B2B site (dobengine.co.kr), they can simply 'log in with a new face' with just a few clicks.
Our clients have used our Virtual Face Center service to create virtual influencers representing their companies and produce promotional videos to screen at global trade shows.
We also restored and broadcast the portrait of the deceased who became a star in the sky.
In this way, Diovis Studio creates a new virtual face that has never existed before, and our corporate clients are creating new content and business models that have never existed before.

--- p.180~181