The Age of Behavioral Communication: New Opportunities and Strategies for Korean Robots

In 2025, with the advent of the 'Physical AI' era, Robotis' stock price skyrocketed by more than 11 times. A conversation between Kim Byung-soo, CEO of Robotis, and Ryu Joong-hee, CEO of Realworld, at COMEUP 2025 clearly presented the present and future of the Korean robotics industry. The market reclassified Robotis from a factory automation company to an AI company. Robotis, which was a preferred actuator supplier for AI software researchers, achieved rapid growth driven by the surge in demand from big tech companies. CEO Ryu, noting the absence of global AI foundation models in Korea, judged the robotics field to be an open playing field and believed there was a chance of success through collaboration with hardware powerhouses like Robotis. CEO Kim described the convergence of AI and robots as "life touching scrap metal." In the past, the rule-based industrial robot market, which operated only in defined environments, was limited to less than 100 trillion won, but AI breathed life into robots, opening up infinite possibilities. The Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model being developed by CEO Ryu understands visual information and language and responds with actions. The challenges lie in its more complex structure than LLMs and the difficulty of acquiring data that is hard to obtain from the web. Data is a key competitive advantage. CEO Kim revealed a strategy to secure robot operation data by utilizing low labor costs in Uzbekistan. The plan is to mass-produce high-quality data at 1/30th the cost compared to Tesla, gaining a competitive edge against China. CEO Ryu's market research results overturned expectations. He confirmed a fervent response to humanoids in the service industry (convenience stores, hotels, logistics centers) rather than manufacturing. It was a 'market-pull' situation where the demand for delicate and repetitive labor in immobile facilities surged. Humanoids, once dismissed as unrealistic, have become a reality with the advent of AI. CEO Ryu emphasized that since VLA's fundamental language is 'action' rather than English, it can be used universally worldwide, and the manufacturing DNA of East Asian countries like Korea and Japan can be a competitive advantage in the robotics sector. Realworld has been valued at hundreds of billions of won in Korea, but there is still a significant gap compared to US companies. CEO Kim advised collaboration leveraging one's unique role and strengths rather than direct 1:1 competition with big tech. CEO Ryu interpreted collaboration proposals from global companies like Nvidia and AWS as an interest not just in Realworld but in the entire Korean robotics ecosystem, emphasizing that now is the optimal time to engage in global play. Investment attraction by actual collaborating partners is also active. CEO Kim urged junior entrepreneurs to maintain their initial spirit and focus on realistic roles, while CEO Ryu emphasized courage. Tesla FSD and Elon Musk's mention of humanoid value signal the immense economic ripple effect of Physical AI. In an era where action becomes language and manufacturing DNA becomes a competitive advantage, the opportunity for Korea's robotics ecosystem has just begun to unfold.