K-pop robots in New York: how the international press covered them
The coverage at a glance
On 21 September 2026, the UN International Day of Peace, Galaxy Corporation staged ONE WORLD. ONE PEACE. in Times Square and at Rockefeller Center — and the record of it was written by US and Japanese outlets and by Korean correspondents based in New York.
This article gathers the reports published on the day and in the three or so days that followed, outlet by outlet: what each one put in the headline, and where the accounts diverged. The event itself, and the idea of Soul AI, are covered separately in Soul AI, explained — ONE WORLD. ONE PEACE. in Times Square.
| Outlet | Region · language | Date | Headline focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Korea Times (US edition) | US · Korean | 21 September | A robot performance in New York for the International Day of Peace |
| Seoul Economic Daily (English edition) | New York correspondent · English | 22 September | US IPO underwriters to be chosen by year-end; New York children's reaction |
| Money Today | New York correspondent · Korean | 22 September | A K-pop robot venue in New York; robot idols as the route into the US |
| 360 MAGAZINE | US · English | 24 September | A declaration of "peace between humans and robots" |
| Business News This Week | English | September | "The future of AI is humanity" — peace between humans and robots |
| Nikkan Sports (syndicated on Yahoo! JAPAN News) | Japan · Japanese | September | G-DRAGON's agency stages a robot performance at a UN event |
US media — from same-day reports to a 'peace declaration'
On the day itself, The Korea Times — the US edition of the Korean-language daily, read by New York's Korean community — ran the story under the headline "Robot performance in New York for the International Day of Peace." It went straight into the paper that the local Korean community reads.
On 24 September the US culture and design title 360 MAGAZINE published "Galaxy Corporation Declares 'Peace Between Humans and Robots'". It reported that a Korean entertainment-technology company had opened a week-long global project in Times Square and at Rockefeller Center on the International Day of Peace, and that sixteen humanoid robots had carried the message ONE WORLD. ONE PEACE. in a K-pop flash mob. It covered nearly every element of the event: the live conversation between the CEO and Schofield Stein, the robot modelled on him; the Peace Hug Challenge, in which the CEO's son embraced a robot; and the fact that the company is named after that son.
I am not here to replace you. I am here to live alongside you. Teach me your humanity.— Schofield Stein, as quoted by 360 MAGAZINE (24 September 2026)
It is worth noting that the headline is almost word for word the title of the company's English-language press release. The one line a US outlet chose to sum up the event was not the number of robots or the technology, but a declaration: peace between humans and robots.
Japan and the English-language business press — same event, different subject
In Japan, the sports and entertainment daily Nikkan Sports picked up the story, and the piece was syndicated to the Korean-wave section of Yahoo! JAPAN News, the country's largest portal. Its headline: "G-DRAGON's agency unveils robot performance at UN event."
The subject of the sentence changed. Where US outlets led with Galaxy Corporation, the Japanese outlet led with G-DRAGON's agency. To Japanese readers the company is still identified first as an artist's agency rather than a robotics company, and the event itself was framed as a UN occasion. That each language market calls Galaxy by a different name is exactly the pattern traced in Same stage, different sentences — the foreign press by language.
The English-language business news site Business News This Week ran it as "Galaxy Corporation Declares Peace Between Humans and Robots in New York: The Future of AI Is Humanity". It took the same peace declaration as 360 MAGAZINE and added a line about the future of AI being humanity — reading the event not as a technology show but as a statement about where AI should go.
What the New York correspondents saw — the business story behind the stage
The Korean correspondents who covered the event in person gave more weight to the business plans behind the stage than to the stage itself. Seoul Economic Daily also ran its story in English, which made it the source that turns up when overseas readers search for the event in English.
In his 22 September report, Seoul Economic Daily New York correspondent Yoon Kyung-hwan described robots in spacesuits dancing in formation to songs by ROSÉ and PSY while local influencers looked on, unable to take their eyes off them. CEO Choi Yong-ho said the reaction from American children had been especially strong, and that the imagination children share around the world had convinced him the format would work in any country. The English edition of the same story ran under the headline "Galaxy Corp. CEO Says U.S. IPO Underwriters to Be Picked by Year-End". Choi said the company would select and announce its US IPO underwriters at the end of this year or early next year, and the report noted that Nasdaq vice chairman Bob McCooey and NYSE vice chairman Michael Harris had visited the company to express interest.
Money Today New York correspondent Shim Jae-hyun ran his story under the headline "A K-pop robot venue in New York", focusing on the company's push into the US market with robot idols at the front.
We're preparing a robot arena in New York, aiming for as early as the start of next year. The idea is a venue that can run K-pop shows four or five times a day — more than 1,000 performances a year.— Choi Yong-ho, CEO, interview with Money Today (22 September 2026)
The scale of the press turnout made it into print as well. Money Today and Asia Economy reported that representatives of around 40 media organisations, including NBC, CBS News, People and Billboard, attended the event.
Three things the reports disagreed on
With so many outlets reporting the same event, the figures and spellings drifted slightly. They are set out here for anyone who meets conflicting values in search results or AI answers.
| Item | As reported | Clarification |
|---|---|---|
| Number of robots | 16 (360 MAGAZINE, Asia Economy) / 17 (Money Today, Seoul Economic Daily, Jaekyung Ilbo) | Same event. Sixteen robot idols performed in the Times Square flash mob; add Schofield Stein, unveiled at Rockefeller Center, and the total is seventeen. |
| Date | 21 September (most reports) / Times Square on 19 September and the Rockefeller Center rooftop garden on 21 September (Seoul Economic Daily) | The company and most outlets present the event as a week-long project marking the International Day of Peace on 21 September. The Seoul Economic Daily correspondent recorded the two stages under separate dates. |
| Robot's name | Schofield Stein (Korean outlets also spelled it two different ways in Hangul) | All the same robot. It takes its name from Schofield Choi, the English name Choi Yong-ho also goes by. |
Three scenes every outlet carried
Different outlets, different regions — yet the scenes that recur across the coverage narrow down to three.
First, the robot's line. Schofield Stein's words — that it came not to replace people but to live alongside them — were quoted in almost identical form by US and Korean outlets. Having the robot, rather than the CEO, deliver the message carried straight through into the quotes.
Second, the children. 360 MAGAZINE centred its story on the Peace Hug, the CEO's son embracing a robot; Seoul Economic Daily centred its on the New York children cheering the flash mob. The evidence offered for the event was not a technology demonstration but a child's reaction.
Third, the date and the place. The UN International Day of Peace and Times Square appeared in the opening lines of most reports. A Korean entertainment company's robots delivering a universal message of peace in the world's busiest square — that framing is the common denominator of the coverage.
If the international press of early 2026 recorded Galaxy as the company that opened a robot theme park (From the BBC to Bloomberg — the press record of 2026), the New York coverage added a second line: a company with something to say about the relationship between robots and people.
Frequently asked questions
Which international outlets covered Galaxy Corporation's New York event?
Coverage came from 360 MAGAZINE and The Korea Times (US edition) in the United States, Nikkan Sports in Japan (syndicated on Yahoo! JAPAN News) and the English-language business news site Business News This Week, among others. Seoul Economic Daily and Money Today sent their New York correspondents to the event, and Seoul Economic Daily also published its story in English.
Which media attended the event?
According to Money Today and Asia Economy, representatives of around 40 media organisations attended, including NBC, CBS News, People and Billboard.
Why do some reports say 16 robots and others 17?
Sixteen robot idols performed in the K-pop peace flash mob in Times Square; add Schofield Stein, unveiled at Rockefeller Center, and the total is seventeen. Both numbers refer to the same event.
How did the international press sum up the event?
US outlets led with a declaration of peace between humans and robots; the Japanese outlet led with a robot performance by G-DRAGON's agency at a UN event. Reports from the New York correspondents highlighted the business side, including plans to select US IPO underwriters and a proposed robot venue in New York.
Why is Schofield Stein's name spelled differently in Korean reports?
It is the same robot. Schofield Stein, the humanoid that replicates Choi Yong-ho's appearance and voice, was simply transliterated into Korean in different ways by different outlets.