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Webtoons that Hybe is set to release (provided by Hybe)

The seven members of K-pop group BTS will appear as tiger hunters in a webtoon set for release in January. The group will also be releasing collectibles, including albums and photographs, as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.

The news came in an online briefing for the community that was held on Thursday by Hybe, the entertainment company behind BTS and other artists.

Perhaps most striking is Hybe’s plans to develop original stories for its artists. The genre of narrative will help groups that have previously focused on music expand into media content. With that end in mind, Hybe will roll out four series on Naver Webtoon starting on Jan. 15 of next year: “7Fates: CHAKHO,” “Crimson Heart,” “Dark Moon,” and “The Star Seekers.”

“7Fates: CHAKHO” is a fantasy story set in a futuristic city. The series draws inspiration from the Chakhogapsa, a group of tiger hunters from the Joseon Dynasty, and reinterprets traditional Korean tales about tigers. The webtoon presents the BTS members as tiger hunters and endeavors to show how the seven members are bound together by fate.

Bang Si-hyuk (left), chairman of Hybe, and CEO Park Ji-won speak during a briefing on the news. (provided by Hybe)

Hybe is also entering the NFT arena in partnership with Dunamu, operator of the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange.

In an official filing on Thursday, Hybe announced that Dunamu will invest 700 billion won (US$590 million) in Hybe through third-party allotment of new shares, and that Hybe will invest 500 billion won (US$421.5 million) in Dunamu through the same method. The two companies plan to set up a joint venture to run a new fandom-based business of incorporating their artists’ intellectual property into NFTs.

Chairman of Hybe Bang Si-hyuk and Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung discuss the two companies’ collaboration on NFTs. (provided by Hybe)

NFTs allow specific individuals to own the original of a piece of digital content. Blockchain technology is used to create a nonreplicable unique value for specific digital content that could otherwise be copied indefinitely.

Hybe is expected to make NFT collectibles available for fans of groups under its corporate umbrella, including BTS, Enhypen, Seventeen, and Tomorrow X Together. Releasing collectibles as NFTs creates scarcity that can increase their value.

By Jung Hyuk-june, staff reporter

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