End of year in Seoul: As the year draws to a close, people in South Korea are preparing to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one. Despite the political challenges the country has faced in recent weeks, the festive spirit and high anticipation surrounding a fresh start are palpable. Local celebrations, many powered by technology, reflect the country’s resilience and enthusiasm for the future. As the world watches, Seoul remains at the forefront of integrating innovation into its cultural festivities, creating a unique blend of tradition and cutting-edge tech.

From immersive augmented reality and virtual reality experiences to artificial intelligence-generated music, South Korea is showcasing the potential role that technology can play in shaping New Year celebrations for the future. Here are just a few of the fascinating year-end traditions you can expect to see in Seoul during this season.

Year-end award ceremonies

In South Korea, major entertainment conglomerates and artists come together to recognise the most memorable media works of the year through award ceremonies held every November and December. While it used to be a common tradition for families to gather around the television to watch the televised ceremonies, most are live-streamed on video platforms like YouTube and CHZZK as the number of TV viewers continues declining, particularly among younger generations.

Of all the ceremonies, CJ ENM’s 2024 MAMA AWARDS seem to have incorporated cutting-edge technology more than others, embracing the theme “BIG BLUR: What is Real?” — where the digital world merges with the real world through the power of tech.

During the opening ceremony, TXT’s Yeonjun performed alongside robots, while virtual idol group PLAVE shared the stage with female soloist Lee Young-ji via large digital displays. Several stages’ background artwork was enhanced using augmented reality technologies. In addition, celebrating their connection with emerging technologies, aespa’s MV “Armageddon”, which leveraged artificial intelligence in its production, won the award for Best MV of the Year at the ceremony.

Drone shows and visual tech art demonstrations.

Decorating the skyline with fireworks has long been a popular way to usher in the new year. However, in recent years, flying hundreds of drones to create dazzling, spectacular symbols in the sky has become a new trend in South Korea, particularly since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, when the country celebrated both the opening and closing ceremonies with over 1,200 drones each.

This year, Hyundai Motor Group hosted a live drone show on 15 November at Ttukseom Hangang Park in Seoul, featuring designs based on people’s New Year wishes. According to the group, the show used more than 2,000 drones — 1,000 more than the previous year’s show at the same venue. On 2 December, the group released a countdown video, which included clips submitted by customers alongside footage of the drone show, through their social media accounts.

On the last day of 2024, Dongdaemun in Seoul is expected to bustle with people eager to witness the countdown of visual tech art projected outside the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. In addition to the fireworks and laser shows, a variety of media art demonstrations are scheduled to be showcased throughout the day.

AI-generated New Year wish song

Another popular music-related tradition to celebrate the New Year in South Korea involves listening to a hopeful song as the first song of the year, with the hope that it will bring good fortune throughout the year.

Some users have even been using AI to create songs that convey specific messages they wish to share. People who ask ChatGPT or other large language models to generate playlists or recommend New Year songs are frequently seen sharing their results on social media.

As part of their New Year countdown campaign, Hyundai Motor Group launched a website that automatically generates a song in Car, the Garden’s voice through its platform “Sing Your Wish“. Although the website uses AI, creating a song is straightforward and easy, even for those unfamiliar with writing prompts. The website first asks for the user’s name and offers nine different wishes to choose from, ranging from specific ones like “buying my own house” to more general messages like “achieving world peace.” Based on the name and wish selected, the website generates a song performed by Car, the Garden, wishing the user a happy New Year.