(Photo courtesy of A2O ENTERTAINMENT)

[Hanteo News = Reporter JUNG JUNHWA] “Alpha to Omega.” Producer LEE SOOMAN emphasized this virtuous cycle.

 

At the global debut show ‘WELCOME TO SOULITE,’ held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 12th, producer LEE SOOMAN began by explaining the company’s name. A2O is short for “Alpha to Omega,” meaning that the beginning and the end are connected, and that the end leads back to a new beginning, continuously changing and expanding.

 

These meanings can be observed in the 15-member boy group A2O SOUL and the 9-member girl group A2O LITE, both unveiled on this day. That is because LEE SOOMAN’s past, present, and the future he envisions are layered within these 24 rookies.

 

First is the “past.” After the showcase videos spread, the name most frequently brought up was BoA. Some said certain members reminded them of BoA in her early debut days, while others commented that it felt as if the SM lineage had been gathered in one place. This was not only about appearance. It was also noted that elements that have become less common in recent K-POP remained intact on the stage, such as a runtime exceeding three minutes, a dance break placed in the middle, and high-note parts toward the end.

 

BoA, who debuted in 2000, was the first case of a Korean artist breaking into overseas markets through a localized strategy, and the person who designed that method was LEE SOOMAN. In other words, he placed the starting point of his return at the position he knows best.

There is also YOO YOUNGJIN. Having worked closely with LEE SOOMAN since his SM days, he is now a director at A2O ENTERTAINMENT and participated in the music and performances of these two teams through lyric writing, composition, and production. A significant part of SM’s distinctive texture, from BoA’s early sound to TVXQ and EXO, came from his hands. The fact that the first name LEE SOOMAN called back upon his return was YOO YOUNGJIN shows that this project is not a break from the past, but an extension of it.

 

The “present” lies in the numbers and structure. The combined 24 members of the two teams are an unusual scale for a debut unit. Among the 15 members of A2O SOUL, five are Korean, including members of Korean descent, while the others are from China, Japan, and Thailand. A2O LITE presents itself as “Zalpha Pop,” meaning it targets both Generation Z and Generation Alpha. The two teams share one worldview called “ACE,” or A2O Cosmic Epic, and the members are not bound to fixed teams, but instead change combinations through units, solos, and projects. Large-scale, multinational, and variable units are among the most widely used grammar in today’s K-POP, and they are also methods LEE SOOMAN originally designed at SM. The structure is that he is beginning again in a place where his past inventions have become today’s standard.

In the place of the “future” sits technology. The core is 4DGS, or 4D Gaussian Splatting. It is a method that records an entire performance by adding the axis of time to three-dimensional spatial information, allowing videos from multiple angles to be created with just one shoot. A2O operates a filming system applying this technology under the name “Infinite Studio,” and after first testing it in videos for A2O MAY, the girl group introduced in China, the company brought it into the music videos for these two teams.

 

It reduces the burden of conventional filming, which required the same movements to be shot repeatedly, and allows fans to revisit performances later from the angles they want. On top of that, “BloomingTalk,” a platform where artists and fans can communicate, will be added later this month. It is the 2026 version of CT, or Culture Technology, which he has long spoken about.

 

What is interesting is that he did not place technology as the conclusion. LEE SOOMAN said, “As much as technological development matters, what kind of wisdom we use to apply it is even more important.” He then added, “As long as K-POP groups are called ‘singers,’ I believe the most important beginning is ultimately the ‘song,’” and said, “The beginning of something that feels different from existing K-POP must also start from the ‘song.’”

 

While speaking about the future, he returned to the oldest proposition. His words, “Being different alone is not enough. The result must also be liked and loved by many people,” and, “Before looking for ‘what is different’ and ‘how it is different,’ I hope people first feel that it is ‘good,’” point in the same direction. The virtuous cycle of going from alpha to omega and back to alpha ultimately seems to mean circling through technology and returning to the song.

 

Now comes the time of proof. Whether the assets of the past remain valid in 2026, whether the present-day grammar of 24 members and variable units can stand out in a market that has already grown familiar with them, and whether 4DGS can be converted into the completeness of the music. Can this cycle become a virtuous one? The answer is expected to come soon.

joonamana@hanteo.com