G-Dragon, a member of YG Entertainment's biggest boy group Big Bang who dominated the K-pop scene from 2006 to 2018, has recently been making unique moves, moves that industry insiders say show that the musician is striving to maintain his fame and reputation as a cultural icon. On Monday, G-Dragon launched a new foundation, JusPeace, to help young artists with drug addiction. In June, he appeared at the Innovate Korea forum on the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology campus, where he was appointed as a visiting professor at KAIST’s mechanical engineering department.
At the beginning of the year, the singer was seen at CES 2024, the world’s largest consumer electronics and IT trade show in Las Vegas, exploring the latest artificial intelligence technologies. Music critic Lim Hee-yun believes G-Dragon is attempting to stay relevant by pioneering a new path as a cultural icon. “G-Dragon is now considered a has-been artist.
He is more like an uncle figure to today’s younger generation. Also, his group Big Bang was once a megastar in the K-pop scene, but they did not achieve the same global success as BTS did. He probably wants to maintain his fame and status as a cultural icon by continuously taking on new challenges,” Lim said Tuesday.
A local entertainment official familiar with YG Entertainment agreed that G-Dragon has always been open to new ventures and experiments. “G-Dragon has always stood out from typical artists. His innovative approach to mus.