As K-pop continues to dominate global music charts and cultural conversations, Lee Soo Man: The King of K-Pop arrives on Amazon Prime Video to spotlight the man who helped shape the movement. Directed by Ting Poo (Val), the documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of Lee Soo Man’s legacy as the founder of SM Entertainment—one of the most influential companies in K-pop history.
Director Ting Poo on telling the story of K-pop’s architect, digital avatars, and the mythology of KWANGYA
“The project was brought to me by This Machine, who were developing the idea and looking for directors,” said Poo. “It seemed like such a huge opportunity because I didn’t know much about K-pop, other than the fact that it was a global phenomenon with an incredible fan base. I saw it as a chance to really learn about it and dive into the world with one of its founding fathers.”
While the documentary was underway, SM Entertainment found itself in the middle of corporate turmoil and legal battles, with Lee Soo Man stepping away from the company he built. “That happened during our filming,” said Poo. “It was like, okay, we have a whole other act now. But story-wise, it pointed to how driven he is. He deals with enormous challenges and can quickly pivot and move on. He’s started a new company and is just as excited about the future.”
Among the documentary’s most striking moments is a scene showing Lee being scanned by hundreds of cameras to create a lifelike avatar. “Yes, we shot that,” confirmed Poo. “It’s this 360 cage with a million cameras that capture you from every angle, and all that information is used to make an avatar of yourself. That avatar appears in the credits—and from the beginning, we knew we wanted to capture that actually being done.”
The idea of virtual personas is not new to Lee. “On the first day we met, he told me he wasn’t really interested in talking about the past,” Poo recalled. “He said, ‘I’m going to make an avatar. There’s going to be five versions of me. One will be a cartoon.’ I was like, what? By then he had already made aespa, who have avatar counterparts, and I knew I wanted to film everything he was creating.”
These futuristic ambitions are echoed throughout the film, including a surreal sequence of Lee walking through a desert—a visual metaphor for KWANGYA (광야). “KWANGYA is the Korean word for wilderness,” said Poo. “It’s a biblical reference, like when Moses walked through the desert. It’s a place of trials. He refers to it a lot, and it’s part of the SM zeitgeist—the world where all the mythology of the artists lives.”
The film also pays tribute to Lee’s philosophy on culture, dreams, and global influence. One quote that resonated deeply with Poo was when Lee declared, “It’s not K-pop. It’s global pop. It’s planet pop.” As she explained, “Even though he was kind of joking, that’s really the vision he’s had from the beginning—to make music for the entire world.”
Due to time constraints, some iconic groups like Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation, and S.E.S. aren’t featured in depth. “There were a lot of groups we just didn’t have time to go into,” Poo said. “They all have incredible stories, but there’s just so much talent he’s created over the years.”
Asked what she hopes viewers take away from the film, Poo said, “I hope everybody finds something they can connect with and find interesting. Yes, it’s a story about K-pop. But it’s also a story about an individual, about Korea, and about technology. It brings a lot of worlds together.”
Log Line
From the traditional town of Jeonju, South Korea came the man that changed the world with music. Lee Soo-Man, the artist who became an innovator, orchestrated one of the most viral global phenomena, K-Pop.
Show Description
From man to maestro, look into the past and see the inception of the Hallyu Wave from Lee’s personal archives, as well as music and material from SM Entertainment’s most popular artists: BoA, Girls’ Generation, EXO, and the latest sensation, Aespa. LEE SOO MAN: KING OF K-POP is the feature documentary chronicling the enthralling life of a bold visionary whose work put his country on the map, sparked a global movement, and continues to define an era.
