This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.



When Plave finally stepped - or rather, streamed - into Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, the nation's largest indoor concert venue, it felt like witnessing K-pop's latest evolution unfold in real time.

Yet by the end of the night, what stood out wasn't the tech pushing the virtual boy band onto that massive stage, but the older truth in the industry: K-pop thrives on community.

Plave, K-pop's biggest virtual group, made a somewhat glitchy but undeniably real debut at one of the industry's most coveted venues with two shows on Friday and Saturday. The two-day run marked a finale for the boy band's first Asia tour, "Dash: Quantum Leap," which kicked off in Seoul in August, and continued with stops in Taipei, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok and Tokyo.



"This is not the 'Truman Show,' right?" said member Bambi in disbelief during the Friday show, looking into the massive crowd filling the dome.

"I don't know if anyone remembers this, but during our 100th day live stream, we asked, 'Will we ever get to perform at Gocheok Sky Dome one day?'," he recalled.

"Indeed, and the important thing is this isn't a dream but our reality," said member Hamin.

"And the ones who made this reality possible are PLLI," he added, referring to Plave's fandom.

Plave, a five-member virtual boy band, debuted under Vlast in March 2023. The virtual quintet is powered by motion capture technology that enables real performers wearing gadgets to bring anime-like avatars to life.

Plave has been making history in the K-pop virtual scene. The group sold more than a million copies of its third EP, "Caligo Pt. 1," released in February, the first virtual act ever to achieve such a feat. Its latest single, "PLBBUU," dropped on Nov. 10, repeating that success by hitting its own million-copy milestone.



Opening the show with a video of the members jumping from a spaceship, the virtual group appeared on stage riding a descending lift, projected onto a massive screen.

Kicking off the near three-hour run with "Watch Me Woo!" (2024), the quintet leveraged its virtual aspect to the fullest from the start. Costumes shifted instantly from school uniform-inspired looks for "Virtual Idol" (2024) to charismatic tech-wear for "Rizz" with only seconds of blackout in between, and continued throughout the concert, even changing mid-song during "Our Movie" (2024) at the peak of the performance.

The set transformed just as freely. A snowy field for "Dear. PLLI" (2023), a grand piano sitting on top of a mountain-shaped structure during "Island," a spiraling tower for "12:32 (A to T)" and even entering through a wormhole-style portal - a visual that would be physically impossible for real-life idols to create. Occasional appearances by real backup dancers and a live band added weight and texture, further blurring the line between virtual and physical performances without feeling out of place.



But their choice paid off vocally. In a busking-style segment inspired by members Noah and Yejun's pre-debut street performances - which were livestreamed on a Hongdae street - each member sang solo, showcasing vocal strengths that grounded the virtual spectacle in something unmistakably human.

And Plave fans got what K-pop fans always want: a fresh jolt of something new and exciting. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came during a surprise cover of K-pop legend TVXQ's "Mirotic" (2008), as the crowd absolutely lost it when the members appeared in sleek black outfits to perform the iconic track.



K-pop has always evolved by absorbing new technology and pop culture shifts into its fast-paced star-making system, and Plave's rise fits neatly into that trajectory. Yet Friday's show underscored that even on the digital frontier of the genre, what drives fandom is still the sense of personal connection, something that fuels emotional investment and keeps people deeply attached to the journey.

Despite never stepping onto a thrust stage...