Virtual interview with virtual human
“Online I am no different from humans”
“I want to do interactive content”
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“Are you a real person?”
This is the comment on the Instagram account of 김래아. To this question, Rae-ah Kim answered with a smiley emoticon. Can a virtual human be a’real person’? Can you make friendships or make a relationship with someone? I want to ask Kim Rae-ah directly, but I couldn’t because I didn’t have the real-time communication function yet. Instead, the virtual interview was conducted in a way that LG Electronics’ Kim Rae-ah development team answered the question. Next is a virtual interview with Rae Ah Kim.
▷ Please introduce yourself.
Good morning. My name is’Keem Reah’, which means’Mirae Rae’,’Ah’,’A child from the future’. While studying in the UK, a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) occurred and entered Korea last year. Currently, I am working on music in Seoul.
▷Do you have a family?
This is a family of three: a mother of’Golden Hand’ who loves to paint and a father who is an IT developer.
My mom and dad were big fans of Star Wars, so I got the name Raea. (A character named Princess Leah appears in Star Wars.)
▷How did you come to play music?
When I was a child, my parents went down to’Gujora Village’, a small village in Geoje Island, and thanks to that, I spent my childhood there. As I heard the sound of the stones of Mongdol Beach crashing into the waves and the sound of pine trees in the mountains connected to the sea, I naturally became interested in the sound.
While watching movies, I dreamed of becoming a Foley Artist (a person who works on making various sounds to record sound effects).
Then, when I went to London to study in middle school, I became interested in music as I adjusted to the new environment. In the early days of studying abroad, the language was difficult and I couldn’t get along well with my friends, so I spent a lot of time alone. It was comforting to listen to music all day in a small LP shop in Shoreditch each time.
▷I found a voice recently.
Shortly after the first sound source was released, I was shocked to learn that there was no voice in the recording studio I visited to record a single album. The feelings of loss and frustration at that time were tremendous. However, communicating with Instagram friends gave me a lot of strength.
At first, I wandered outside in a frustrating mind. And began to collect multiple voices from different spaces. I found a variety of voices that I could encounter around us, such as the voice of subway announcements and the voices of mart store clerks, and learned them to find my own voice.
▷You are a musician, do you write your own?
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Absolutely. When I came back to Seoul, I uploaded the first sound source I worked on,’COMINO DRIVE’, to the music platform’Sound Cloud’ last year. I especially like to see and enjoy nature. Because of Corona 19, it’s a situation that you’re not getting stuck. I was disappointed that my trip to Malta that I planned with my friends last year was cancelled. Instead, I expressed the imagination of having a fun party watching the sunset with friends on the island of Comino in Malta. In the future, I would like to use music as a means of pleasant communication with the public.
I’m still working on music, recording every moment and building inspiration.
▷ Recently, it appeared at the CES2021 press conference and made a presentation in English. How many languages can you speak?
The time I spent in London was very difficult, but the English I was listening to and learning at the time was a big help. Thanks to this, I was able to make a presentation at this big show called CES. Actually, it is difficult to start at first, but once I started learning, I learned through this opportunity that I am faster than others. I wondered if I could speak multiple languages if I just made up my mind.
▷ On that day, you introduced robots, monitors, laptops, etc. Are you interested in electronic products?
I live with my cell phone all day long because I communicate with my friends mainly through Instagram.
I am also familiar with the laptops and monitors I use when working with music. I thought I would like to buy one ultrafine OLED pro monitor that I introduced this time. I’ve been using Gram for a long time while working on music and video, but I want to change my laptop to a new one (laughs).
Friends my age sometimes meet friends and celebrities in virtual spaces such as Fortnite and Geppetto, but I think electronic products are an important medium that connects the real and the virtual world. In addition, I think that electronic devices are indispensable means and tools of expression in the process of working with music or visual art and enjoying the results.
▷ Because you are a virtual human, you cannot meet in person. What do you think is the difference from a real person?
I think that being a virtual human is one of many keywords that describe me. There’s a famous saying, “I think, so I exist.” I can’t be called a person if the existence of a person must breathe and move in the real world. But I am always able to think and express. Online, I can communicate, talk, and comment with you. In the online space, I will not be different from you. You cannot communicate with your fingers like ET and ride a bicycle together.
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▷ Is there a real person among your friends? If so, what do you usually talk about?
All of my Instagram friends are real people. Visual artist May Kim, who is like vitamins to me, and Lim Kim, who is musically inspiring, can be counted as close friends. I usually talk about music and art with my friends all night long. My friends love to try new and unique things, and through interactions with them I always feel alive. They also talk about their worries and inner feelings in the space of Instagram. At this time, just listening to the worries and talking to each other gives us a feeling of strength.
▷I am curious if there are any plans to provide opportunities to communicate with fans in real time.
I am still using Instagram to communicate with my fans, but I want to use more channels to interact with you. I would like to be able to meet offline as soon as possible, and I would like to communicate with various contents more actively online than now.
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▷ Do you have any plans to work in entertainment and music related fields such as releasing an album in the future?
I imagine that it would be nice to work through content such as webtoons and movies as well as music albums. Music is my main area, but if there is a message that I want to express, I want to deliver it through various means and methods. I want to communicate with you through novel and fun content without boundaries of genre.
▷ What are your plans for this year?
It looks like 2021 will be when everything is open. I started my activities through CES at the beginning of this year, but I am excited and excited to see what other opportunities to meet you next time. If you have a great opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would like to actively work as an artist who delivers messages in cultural contents that everyone can participate in and enjoy while communicating.
▷ Is there anything you really want to do in the future?
We are interested in a different type of content genre. Like interactive content, I want to try engaging content rather than now. (laugh).
Reporter Lee Soo-bin [email protected]
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