A2O LITE's "NEON" has gone from chart phenomenon to full-blown internet meme. AI-generated videos compositing figures like Elon Musk, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and even producer Lee Soo-man himself into the "Neon and beyond" universe are going viral across Korean social media, TV Chosun reported on October 23.
The report frames the nine-member rookie girl group as the defining act of K-pop's fifth generation — produced by 74-year-old Lee Soo-man, the man who launched first-generation idols H.O.T. and S.E.S. three decades ago.
The meme cast is star-studded: Musk and Huang, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK chairman Choi Tae-won, the fictional Park Yeon-jin couple from Netflix's "The Glory," and A2O Entertainment producer Yoo Young-jin have all been turned into "NEON" meme characters.
Koreans in their 30s told the broadcaster they were stunned that the producer of their teenage years is now captivating their children's generation — one exclaiming, "Soo-man hyung, your touch is still alive." Viewers in their 20s said they were shocked someone his age could make such a trendy song, crediting the group's flawless synchronized choreography, clean high-note vocals and an addictive rhythm for its cross-generation pull.
"I have been together with K-pop from the beginning as it developed," Lee Soo-man, A2O Entertainment's key producer, said in the report — the same debut-showcase message he delivered on October 12.
Once the architect behind first-generation idols, Lee Soo-man has now become the subject of the meme himself, breaking generational boundaries all over again, the report concluded.
