K-pop dancing robots head to Japan

The short answer — what Galaxy plans to do in Japan

Galaxy Corporation plans to enter Japan with shows in which humanoid robots dance to K-pop. In an interview with Japan's Sankei Shimbun published on 23 October 2026, CEO Choi Yong-ho said the company would set up a base in Japan next year and stage robot K-pop performances there on an ongoing basis, and outlined a plan to expand from Japan to the world by pairing its robots with globally popular Japanese characters.

This page summarises what the article and video reported. The Japan entry and the collaborations are plans Choi described in the interview; the partner and a detailed schedule had not been made public at the time of reporting. The interview was published in Japanese; quotations here are translations.

The Japan plan, as described in the interview

In its Seoul-datelined article, the Sankei Shimbun introduced Galaxy Corporation as a South Korean venture company working on Physical AI that lets robots move autonomously, and reported its plan to enter Japan next year — that is, in 2027 — with robot K-pop performances. On the same day, the Sankei News YouTube channel published a video showing the shows at Galaxy Robot Park.

According to the article, the company will set up a base in Japan and stage robot K-pop shows there on a continuing basis rather than as one-off events. Choi said he could not name the Japanese partner company, but would hold a press conference in Japan at the end of the year to make an announcement. His expectations for the Japanese market came down to one sentence:

Japan and Korea are both highly interested in each other's culture.— Choi Yong-ho, CEO of Galaxy Corporation, interview with the Sankei Shimbun (23 October 2026; translated from Japanese)

Why Japan, and why characters

The pillar of the Japan plan is characters. Choi said he wants to make collaborations between the company's robots and globally popular Japanese characters a reality, and the article described a plan to combine famous Japanese characters with robots and expand from Japan to the rest of the world. Which characters was not disclosed.

The idea fits the direction the company has described before. Galaxy Corporation defines a humanoid not as a product but as a platform on which performances and IP run (A humanoid is not a product, it's a platform) — so the same robot that performs K-pop choreography can take on a Japanese character. Nor is Japan a new destination: the theme-park trade publication blooloop had earlier listed Dubai, Japan and the United States as the Robot Park's next expansion steps (Same stage, different sentences — the foreign press by language). The Sankei interview adds a timeframe — next year — and a content strategy built on character collaborations.

"Robots on weekdays, people at weekends" — the role of robots

In the interview, Choi distanced himself from the idea that robots will replace K-pop idols. According to the article, he described K-pop as an industry whose capital is people — and people are limited by age, stamina, time and place. Robots, he said, can play a supporting role within those limits.

The picture he painted was concrete: audiences enjoy human performances at weekends and watch robot shows on weekdays. To get there, Choi said, the company will keep raising the quality of its robots. Robot shows fill the times and places where artists cannot be on stage — the same logic behind Galaxy Robot Park's multiple daily shows.

What it takes technically for several robots to dance K-pop group choreography together is explained in Why K-POP group choreography is the hardest test a humanoid can face.

Galaxy Robot Park, as the article described it

The Sankei Shimbun cited Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul as the basis for the Japan plan. According to the article, humanoid robots that have learned idol choreography perform to popular K-pop songs there, and the park has about 20 types of robots, including a dog-shaped robot visitors can operate and robots that play the piano or draw portraits. About 28,000 people visited in the roughly two months between the August 2026 opening and October — the same scale as the roughly 28,000 paying visitors Choi cited in September (Galaxy Press Radar: September 2026).

Galaxy Robot Park is a Physical AI theme park of about 16,500㎡ (5,000 pyeong) in Godeok, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, which held its grand opening on 21 August 2026. Visitor information is on the Galaxy Robot Park guide.

How Japanese media coverage has shifted

Japanese media have tended to introduce Galaxy Corporation first as "G-DRAGON's agency" (New York event: the international press coverage). The Sankei Shimbun article instead opened by describing the company as a South Korean venture working on Physical AI — naming it first as a robotics technology company rather than an artist management agency.

The TV Tokyo report is covered in detail in TV Tokyo's KoreaNOW report. Within two months, Japanese media interest moved from on-site features to a CEO interview, and from "an artist agency" to "a Physical AI company".

The next steps the CEO described

Two next steps emerged from the interview. First, Choi said he would hold a press conference in Japan at the end of the year to announce the Japan plans; the partner company, the characters and the details of the base are expected to be confirmed there. Second, the article gave the timing of the entry as next year.

This hub updates its timeline and fact pages once the company makes an official announcement. The company's overall trajectory is on the Galaxy Corporation Timeline 2019–2026, and Choi's other official statements are in the Choi Yong-ho official statement archive.

Frequently asked questions

Is Galaxy Corporation entering Japan?

In a Sankei Shimbun interview published on 23 October 2026, CEO Choi Yong-ho said the company plans to enter Japan next year with robot K-pop performances. It intends to run the shows continuously from a base in Japan, and Choi said he would hold a press conference in Japan at the end of the year to announce the details.

What kind of shows will it stage in Japan?

Shows in which humanoid robots that have learned idol choreography dance to popular K-pop songs — the format that runs daily at Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul. Choi also said he wants to make collaborations between the robots and globally popular Japanese characters a reality.

Which Japanese companies or characters will Galaxy work with?

They had not been disclosed at the time of the interview. Choi said he could not name the Japanese partner company and would make an announcement at a press conference in Japan at the end of the year.

Will robots replace K-pop idols?

Choi describes the role as supporting, not replacing. He said K-pop is an industry whose capital is people, who are limited by age, stamina, time and place, and outlined a model in which audiences enjoy human performances at weekends and robot shows on weekdays. He said the company will keep raising the quality of its robots to that end.

How many people have visited Galaxy Robot Park?

According to the Sankei Shimbun, about 28,000 people visited in the roughly two months between the August 2026 opening and October. The park has about 20 types of robots, including a dog-shaped robot visitors can operate and robots that play the piano or draw portraits.

When and in what form was the Sankei Shimbun interview published?

It was published on 23 October 2026 as an article by Seoul correspondent Yuki Ishikawa, and the Sankei News YouTube channel released a video of the Robot Park shows the same day.

How do Japanese media describe Galaxy Corporation?

Early coverage mostly introduced it as "G-DRAGON's agency". In September 2026, TV Tokyo presented it as the operator of a Physical AI theme park, and in October the Sankei Shimbun introduced it as a South Korean venture working on Physical AI.