South Korea's largest entertainment and auto companies plan to introduce an unprecedented virtual showcase combining an online concert and a new car launching event next month, according to an announcement Wednesday.

SM Entertainment and Hyundai Motor Co. said they will jointly unveil a new concept virtual showcase, titled "Beyond DRIVE," on the automaker's YouTube channel HyundaiWorldwide at 10 p.m. on Sunday (Korean time).

Hyundai will announce the launching of its new compact SUV, the all-new Tucson, during the showcase, which will also feature various genres of performances and acting against the backdrop of the sea, space, Lilliput and a forest, with Kai, a member of K-pop boy band EXO, taking the leading role.

It tells the story of a protagonist who leads a normal life as a publishing company employee after abandoning his childhood dream and finds his true self by traveling in space in pursuit of a mysterious light after meeting Tucson.

A musical-like performance will be shown based on stage technologies that combine storytelling elements with augmented reality (AR) and extended reality, while the all-new Tucson embodied with AR technology flies over the stage, they said, adding contemporary dancer Kim Seol-jin, world-renowned Gamberz Crew's Bboy Kill and choreographer Baek Koo-young have participated in the planning of the showcase.

"Beyond DRIVE, created as a result of the meeting of different industries, is a new method of car launching communications that differ from the conventional events focused on the delivery of information," said a Hyundai official. (Yonhap)