South Korea’s major entertainment company SM Entertainment Co. is on the hunt for fresh, young talent in Vietnam to groom them like K-pop stars into the next global pop icons.

The rise of “V-pop” would have a huge positive impact on the rapidly growing Vietnamese economy, said Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, during his keynote speech at Maekyung Vietnam Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday.

“Vietnam is a young, vibrant country where 65 percent of the population is under 35,” said Lee. “Vietnam also shares many cultural and emotional similarities with Korea so I am confident that we will be able to uncover many future global stars here.”

Lee also projected that the era of fourth industrial revolution would bring a more personalized touch to pop culture. “We might soon see people enjoying cultural content at home through a celebrity robot with artificial intelligence,” he said.

The two-day Maekyung Vietnam Forum was hosted by Korea’s largest business media Maekyung Media Group, Korea Cultural Industry Forum and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The event was attended by over 200 government officials and corporate leaders from the two countries, including Korea’s CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik and LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yeol. Entrepreneurs from Korea also met with their Korean counterparts doing business in Vietnam to discuss ideas and share their experiences during the forum.

By Jang Yong-seung and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]