Humanoid robots dressed in black, luxury hip-hop outfits snap into formation, moving in perfect sync to K-pop songs. It¡¯s a simulation inside an office styled as a crash-landed spacecraft in the heart of Seoul¡¯s financial district, complete with towering astronauts and floating robotic jellyfish.

The performance is orchestrated by Choi Yong-ho, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy, a Seoul-based startup trying to disrupt K-pop¡¯s traditional idol system ¡ª a model built on years of recruiting, training and managing human performers.

Galaxy is trying to build a new strategy that blends artificial intelligence characters and life-size robot idols. The goal is to create content without the constraint of human performers.