They dance, they box, they make cute pets, they meet, they greet, they fall, they get back up . . .
Welcome to the wonderful world of robots – those things that used to exist only in sci-fi movies, books and comics before they slowly but surely jerked and twerked their way into everyday life.
READ MORE | The cost of AI: how data centres guzzle power and water
And the Galaxy Robot Park is taking things to the next level now. This centre, which opened recently in Seoul, South Korea, bills itself as the first robot cultural theme park on the planet and is a groundbreaker in the world of “enter-tech” – a portmanteau of entertainment and technology.
The centrepiece of the 16 500 square-metre park is the Robot Arena, where K-pop concerts are staged. The difference, of course, is the performers in this arena don’t have agents, managers, an entourage or a list of quirky requirements – all they need are a couple of technicians to keep them in tip-top shape.
These humanoid robots, decked out in sequins and bright colours, perform choreographed dance routines, having learnt every move through motion-capture technology based on the performances of real dancers.
Visitors can see them move to G-Dragon’s songs Power and Home Sweet Home, as well as Taemin’s Advice and IDEA.
Taemin is a member of the popular K-pop group SHINee and is also signed under the Galaxy Corporation, the enter-tech giant that owns the robot park.
Galaxy plans to stage more than 1 000 performances a year, with shows being performed up to six times a day, says Choi Yong-ho, the co-founder and CEO.
1902
“The Galaxy Robot Park will be more than just an ordinary theme park – it will be the starting point of robot culture expansion. We plan on expanding to the global market after starting in Korea,” he adds.
“By the end of this year we’re planning to take the robots on a world tour, which will include destinations like Africa, South America and the Middle East.”
Robot valets greet each visitor at the park’s entrance and robot dogs roam around for kids to play with.
There’s also an interactive element where visitors can take control of a robot in a boxing match.
Real-time motion technology allows robots to mimic the human’s movements during the fight, in which the robots are kitted out in gloves, headgear, shorts and shoes.
It doesn’t always go smoothly though, as they can miss their targets and seemingly become disoriented, punching the air, and at least one boxer’s glove has flown off its hand.
Elsewhere in the park, a robotic arm fitted with an expressive face draws portraits of visitors as it talks, asking questions and making observations.
“A robotic arm with a face attachment drew my portrait, chatting with me while it worked. The result is highly accurate, but I feel it made me look older than I am,” says The Guardian’s Raphael Rashid.
The park draws families, the curious and the sceptical in equal measure.
“We aim to create a robot-themed park where people can stay for about three to four hours,” Yong-ho says.
A robot fashion show is in the pipeline for the park, with an accompanying fashion line.
As with all new endeavours, not everything has gone to plan, with a robot dancer stalling and having to be removed from the stage during a performance and another falling off the stage – although to the audience’s delight it picked itself up and rejoined the action.
The show must go on, even if you’re a robot.
Elsewhere in Asia, robots are being trained to think on their own, so they can carry out routine and repetitive jobs.
Kenneth Ren, a Chinese technology consultant, helps run what the state media describe as a “humanoid robot school” as China looks to advance its robots beyond entertainment to employment.
At the China Media Group’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala, companies that specialise in humanoid robots put on impressive performances featuring children and robots dancing and performing martial arts in sync with one another.
The robots kept pace with the kids, wielding fake swords and poles and executing parkour sequences. One even pretended to fall before getting back up.
Last year China began deploying AI-powered robots to help human officers control traffic in cities. The robots detect traffic violations, issue warnings and are fitted with gesture-based signalling, high-definition cameras and sensors.
Humanoid robots are part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader industrial strategy.
Just as Beijing targeted electric vehicles and AI as key future technologies, policymakers have identified robots as an area China should focus on into 2030 to ensure the country dominates global markets.
As China continues to advance its AI-powered robots, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says they are the ones to watch.
He told investors during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in January that his Optimus humanoid robots were superior to China’s due to their hand design, which he said is “the hardest thing” to master in a robot.
But he acknowledged China’s aggressive push in the field.
“By far, the biggest competition for humanoid robots will be from China. China is incredibly good at scaling manufacturing.”
SOURCES: THEGUARDIAN.COM, KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.COM, KOREAPOST.COM, INTERESTINGENGINEERING.COM, ASIAE.CO.KR, EN.YNA.CO.KR, CNBC.COM
