Yuna Kim Becomes a Ballerina… The Dolphin Kidnapping Crew Ad Created With Google Gemini Draws Attention for Its Project

A performance video has been released in which Yuna Kim, a former figure skater, transforms into a ballerina and reinterprets her short program, "The Rite of Death."

After the Google campaign "Our Queen is back," directed by Shin Woo-seok of the Dolphin Kidnapping Crew, was released on the 6th via Google Korea’s YouTube channel, it was then released on the 7th via the Dolphin Kidnapping Crew’s official YouTube channel.

The project captures a performance in which Yuna Kim presents "The Rite of Death" as ballet choreography, with ballerina Kang Soo-jin participating. The campaign video consists of a main film featuring Yuna Kim’s ballet performance, along with five short-form videos covering the project’s production process and behind-the-scenes footage, as well as episodes before and after the performances. The videos are expected to be released sequentially.

In particular, the work made extensive use of Google’s strategic AI collaboration with Gemini. Experts in each field used Gemini for choreography composition, movement paths, and stage and costume design. Kang Soo-jin reviewed the work and participated throughout the project. Yuna Kim also used Gemini during her choreography practice to analyze and refine the ballet movements in detail.

In this video, Shin Woo-seok—who previously planned and produced "The Christmas Song" in collaboration with Google and directed the city fairy tale "Shin Woo-seok’s City Fairy Tale"—took charge of directing. Shin said, "We made this so that everyone can unfold their potential to the fullest without giving up their life goals because of money, time, or competition." He added, "As Yuna Kim worked intensely to rehearse and complete the stage so she could transform into a new version of herself as a ballerina, I hope it becomes a special gift for fans, too."