Turning technology into a creative language.
Rene Hyewon Lee is a producer and director of immersive storytelling, working on the boundary between art and technology and between Korea and the world. Founder of Giioii.
Recent
Works
9 of 24- 2025–26Palace Immersive Goong ↗6-person free-roam LBE VR, 41 min · Seoul Season 1 at Space Sophora, Mar–Jun 2026 · SIGGRAPH 2025 Immersive Pavilion Best in Show · NewImages 2026 XR Competition · Laval Virtual Awards 2026 FinalistWriter, Director, ProducerKR FR US
- 2024Slit AR ↗LBE immersive AR: visitors follow traces of Slit, a creature living in a hidden dimension beside us, through the streets of Jangchung-dong · PARADISE ART LAB Festival 2024Director, ProducerKR
- 2024Shall We Stick Together ARIDFA DocLab Forum · NewImages · Beyond the FrameProducerNL FR JP
- 2024Nuville Bucheon ↗Cyberpunk AR and live-action walking game set in 2040, where a podcast co-written with AI sends players on missions across Bucheon · BIFAN+ 2024 special program · Korea–Canada co-production with Raaralab, supported by the Canada Council for the ArtsProducerKR CA
- 2023AnimaParticipatory drawing turned into motion: an AI-driven motion-capture music video · AI Content Festival 2024ProducerKR
- 2023Find WiiLii: The Gate-Crasher90-min VR immersive theatre · Cannes XR 2020 Development Showcase · SXSW 2023 XR Experience Competition · BIFANExecutive ProducerFR US
- 2022Ihyangjeong: Carving with Memories17-min VR documentary animation · IDFA DocLab Forum 2020 · SXSW 2022 XR Competition · IDFA DocLab · FilmGate Miami · DocEdge · BIFANLead ProducerUS NL
- 2021–22Missing PicturesVR documentary series · Tribeca Immersive 2022 · VR Awards Finalist · Best VR, Ji.hlava & Luxembourg 2023Executive ProducerUS CZ LU
- 2012–19ScreenXWorld's first 270° multi-projection cinema format (Edison Award) · global launch in 7 countries · 22 ScreenX feature releases, 2.2M admissionsFounding Member, Global Launch, Head of TeamKR
Talks
8 of 45- 2026Creation and Cultural Diversity in the Age of AICultural Diversity Conference 2026, KACESSpeakerKR
- 2026Futura Canvas 2026International conferenceSpeaker & ModeratorKR
- 2026K-ImmersiveNewImages Festival, ParisModeratorFR
- 2025Art Korea Lab PavilionSIGGRAPH Asia 2025, Hong KongPresenterHK
- 2022Over the Real World: A Conversation with GiioiiCinema Studies, New York UniversityGuest LectureUS
- 2022Deep Dive: Next MobilityAPAM — Australian Performing Arts MarketSpeakerAU
- 2021In Conversation with Sarah Ellis, Royal Shakespeare CompanyPAMS — Seoul Performing Arts Market, Next MobilityModeratorKR
- 2019VR International ConferenceBucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN)ModeratorKR
Workshops & Mentoring
13- 2026FuturaCanvas Global Distribution WorkshopTaking immersive works to international festivals and venuesCo-MentorKR
- 2026APE CAMPArt & technology convergence, Arts Council KoreaMentorKR
- 2025Art Tech for Life HackathonCreators prototype art × tech works in teams · Seongnam Cultural Foundation × Dankook UniversityProgram DirectorKR
- 2025New Content Academy — Virtual VisualizationKorea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)FacilitatorKR
- 2025VR Drawing WorkshopsKorean Film ArchiveWorkshop LeadKR
- 2023–24Art Korea Lab, XR & Metaverse LabKorea Arts Management ServiceFuture MentorKR
- 2023Arts & Tech Workshops for TeachersDigital tools for arts educators · KACES · Sejong Office of EducationWorkshop LeadKR
- 2021Dance × Technology Creative LabKorea National Contemporary Dance CompanyFacilitator, Tech MentorKR
- 2021Virtual Ball — Tech-integrated Arts EducationKoCACA × Anyang Cultural FoundationProgram DirectorKR
- 2025–Dankook UniversityGlobal K-Culture Convergence Talent ProgramVisiting ProfessorKR
- 2020–Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts)Arts Management, Schools of Drama and Dance (BA/MA)LecturerKR
- 2023–24Kyonggi UniversityConvergence ContentAdjunct ProfessorKR
- 2011–12Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts)Arts ManagementLecturerKR
Publications
12- 2026Developing Palace Immersive Goong as Location-Based VRHCI Korea 2026PaperKR
- 2025Palace Immersive GoongACM SIGGRAPH 2025, Immersive PavilionPaperCA
- 2023Art Rides the MetaverseArts Education Series, K-Arts Research InstituteBook ChapterKR
- 2023Digital Technology and AI2023 Arts Education Report, KACESEssayKR
- 2022Musical Experience Extended by the Metaverse: Case StudiesKorean Society for Western Music TheoryPaperKR
- 2021Performance and the MetaverseKorean Association for Cultural Economics, Fall ConferencePaperKR
- 2021Arts and Human-Centered Design in the Metaverse EraKorean Society of Design HistoryPaperKR
- 2021–ixi.mediaXR and immersive content magazineEditorial Board, ContributorKR
- 2012Design and Implementation of a Web-based Co-creation System for Broadcast Program FormatsJournal of the Korea Contents AssociationJournal Article (KCI)KR
- 2012Social Media Use and Marketing Strategies of Arts OrganizationsKorea Association of Arts Management conferencePaperKR
- 2011How Social Media Changes the Arts EcosystemKorea Knowledge Management Society conferencePaperKR
- 2010Social Media Strategies of International Arts Organizations: A Case AnalysisKorea National University of ArtsMA ThesisKR
Juries, Advisory & Research
5 of 13- 2026–27Content Business Advisory BoardOverseas Expansion Center, KOCCAAdvisorKR
- 2026AI × Art Creation Project SupportKorea Arts Management ServiceJurorKR
- 2026NEXT:ON 2026 — Media Art Content CompetitionIncheon TechnoparkJurorKR
- 2024Unfold XSeoul Foundation for Arts and CultureJurorKR
- 2016–18Multi-projection System and Content DevelopmentNational VR flagship project, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future PlanningPrincipal InvestigatorKR
Also served as juror, evaluator or advisor for: Korea Arts Management Service, Arts Council Korea, KOCCA, Korea Radio Promotion Association, KACES, Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation, Gyeonggi Content Agency, Jeonju Cultural Foundation, Seoul Namsan Gugakdang, Art Center Nabi, PARADISE ART LAB, Korea Software Copyright Committee, Korea Private Museum Association, ACTGROUND, Gangneung City, K-Arts, Sogang University and Kyonggi University.
About
Rene Hyewon Lee calls herself a boundary dweller. For twenty years she has worked in the space between art and technology, and between Korea and the international scene, taking each new technology and asking what kind of story it is suited to. Her studio's name, Giioii, comes from that question: a story that technology fits.
She believes in the power of story, and she looks for creativity inside technology itself. Her works give the audience a role and make them the protagonist: in Palace Immersive Goong, six visitors walk into a 1902 court banquet that never took place; in Nuville Bucheon, a podcast co-written with AI sends players across the city on missions; in Anima, participants' drawings become motion through AI and motion capture. Palace Immersive Goong received Best in Show at the SIGGRAPH 2025 Immersive Pavilion.
Works she has produced have been officially selected more than 30 times at international festivals including SXSW, Tribeca, IDFA DocLab and NewImages. Earlier, as a founding member of CJ CGV ScreenX, she led the 270° multi-projection format through its global launch, and at KOCCA she worked in global marketing.
She continues to develop and produce new work at Giioii, testing AI and other emerging tools as creative material. Alongside her own productions, she designs workshops and hackathons where artists make new tools their own, and mentors creators heading to international markets. She teaches at Korea National University of Arts and is a visiting professor at Dankook University.
이혜원은 스스로를 ‘경계인’이라 부른다. 지난 20년간 예술과 기술 사이, 한국과 해외 현장 사이에서 일하며, 새로운 기술이 나올 때마다 그 기술에 어울리는 이야기가 무엇인지 물어 왔다. 그가 이끄는 스튜디오 ‘기어이’의 이름도 ‘기술이 어울리는 이야기’에서 왔다.
그는 이야기의 힘을 믿고, 기술 안에서 새로운 창의성을 발견한다. 그의 작업은 관객에게 역할을 주고 이야기의 주인공으로 만든다. 〈이머시브 궁〉에서는 여섯 명의 관객이 1902년 열리지 못한 궁중 연회 안을 걷고, 〈누빌부천〉에서는 AI와 함께 쓴 팟캐스트가 참가자에게 미션을 내리며 도시를 누비게 하고, 〈애니마〉에서는 참여자의 드로잉이 AI와 모션캡처를 거쳐 움직임이 된다. 〈이머시브 궁〉은 SIGGRAPH 2025 이머시브 파빌리온 Best in Show를 받았다.
그가 프로듀싱한 작품들은 SXSW, 트라이베카, IDFA DocLab, 뉴이미지 등 국제 페스티벌에 30회 이상 공식 초청됐다. 앞서 CJ CGV ScreenX 창립 멤버로 270° 다면상영 포맷의 글로벌 런칭을 이끌었고, 한국콘텐츠진흥원에서 글로벌 마케팅을 맡았다.
지금도 기어이에서 새로운 작품을 기획·제작하며, AI를 비롯한 새로운 기술을 창작의 재료로 실험하고 있다. 자신의 작업과 함께 창작자들이 새로운 도구를 자기 언어로 만들도록 돕는 워크숍과 해커톤을 설계하고, 해외 시장으로 향하는 창작자를 멘토링한다. 한국예술종합학교에 출강하며 단국대학교 초빙교수로 재직 중이다.
Awards & Recognition
- 2026Creative Award — New IdeaHCI Korea 2026Palace Immersive GoongKR
- 2026Laval Virtual Awards — Entertainment, FinalistPalace Immersive GoongFR
- 2025Best in Show, Immersive PavilionACM SIGGRAPH 2025Palace Immersive GoongCA
- 2025Arts Management Award — Minister's PrizeMinistry of Culture, Sports and TourismGiioii Inc. (company)KR
- 2023Best VR — Ji.hlava IDFF; LuxembourgMissing PicturesCZ LU
- 2022Metaverse Innovation Award — Jury Chair's PrizeMinistry of Science and ICTThe Lost Face 1895KR
- 2022VR Awards — VR Film of the Year, FinalistMissing PicturesGB
- 2016–17CGV Mentoring Award, Top Prize · Self-Leader Mentoring, Top GroupCJ CGVKR
- 2014–17CGV Next-Generation Leader · CJ Group EDGE ProgramCJ CGV · CJ GroupSelectedKR
- 2016CJ CGV Value Gold AwardBIGBANG MADE (team)KR
- 2016CJ CGV Performance Silver AwardScreenXKR
- 2012CGV Award — Grand PrizeScreenX launchKR
- 2010Arts Policy Proposal Competition — Excellence AwardArts Council KoreaKR
Press & Interviews
- 2025이야기 속으로 접속, 이혜원 기어이 대표 [인터뷰] ↗On giving the audience a role and making them the protagonistDEN MagazineKO
- 2025Rene Hyewon Lee, GiiÖii: “Entertainment isn’t about being superficial” ↗On creating an environment people genuinely want to return to, emotionally and imaginativelyXRMust, XR Magazine
- 2024Artist Talk: 기어이 스튜디오 — PARADISE ART LAB Festival 2024 아카이브북 ↗On why audiences forget the technology and remember only the storyParadise Cultural Foundation (PDF, pp. 39–42)KO
- 2023가상과 현실의 리얼리티를 연결하다: ‘기어이’ 인터뷰 ↗On content grounded in storytelling rather than technologyiimedia Newsletter No. 32KO
- 2023[아티(ATI) 기업탐방] 기어이 ↗On the studio's name: a story that technology fitsArtMore, Korea Arts Management ServiceKO
- ▶수많은 경계를 넘어 새로운 재미를 찾아다니는 경계인 | 이머시브 프로듀서 이혜원 ↗Video interview: the boundary dwellerArt, Ketch-Up (YouTube)KO
Experience
- 2020–Giioii Inc.Founder & CEO, Creative Director, Producer
- 2019–20Citylights VR, Los AngelesGlobal Business Consultant
- 2012–19CJ CGV ScreenX StudioFounding Member · led global launch · Head of Team
- 2010–11Hyundai Research InstitutePlanning Office
- 2008–10Ubiquitous Art & Technology Lab, K-ArtsResearcher
- 2008–10Tacit GroupPlanning & Communications
- 2006–08NstoryContent planning
- 2004–06Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) · Korea Pavilion, Brand Licensing London 2005Global Marketing Associate
- 2002–04KISTI · Ahn GraphicsResearch and publishing
Education
- 2026KAIST Graduate School of Culture TechnologyMicro-degree, CT × AI
- 2019UCLA ExtensionCertificate, Entertainment Business Management
- 2010Korea National University of Arts (K-Arts)MA, Arts Management
- 2002Hankuk University of Foreign StudiesBA, German