Meomuru’s AI-assisted song reaches No. 3 on Melon as copyright standards remain unsettled

Meomuru released “The Adult I Dreamed Of” in June, and the track recently gained traction after being widely used as background music in short-form videos on Korean social media.[1] The Korea Herald reported that it reached No. 3 on Melon’s Top 100 as of Wednesday.[1] The Korea Times reported that it also reached No. 2 on Genie Music and YouTube Music, and that it had remained in Melon’s Top 20 as recently as early October before climbing rapidly.[2] The Korea Times described it as a rock ballad about the gap between childhood aspirations and adulthood.[2]

The voice on the track is not a human singer’s voice; according to the album description, Suno generated the vocals.[1] Meomuru wrote the lyrics and directed the song’s overall production.[1] Meomuru described AI as a modern instrument and a partner for realizing creative ideas.[1] That division of work makes the song a concrete example of AI-assisted music involving both generated material and human contributions. The available reporting identifies the source of the vocals and Meomuru’s role, but does not specify how much of the production involved AI.[1]

Listeners’ reactions to the song have been divided.[1] Some worry that AI-produced music on major charts could displace established singers and human creators.[2] The broader debate, as described by The Korea Times, includes the use of training data, protection for original creators and credit for human contributors.[2] It also includes questions raised by AI covers that imitate real singers, including voice rights and rights of publicity as well as copyright.[2] These are concerns and areas of debate; the reporting does not establish that this song displaced a human performer or infringed anyone’s rights.[2]

A Korea Economic Daily columnist said no copyright standard had been established for AI-generated music in Korea.[4] The columnist reported that the Korean Music Copyright Association withdrew its August proposal for registering human contributions to AI-assisted music after lawmakers and the government said social consensus was needed.[4] The association was holding off on registering AI-generated music until suitable standards were established.[4] Separately, the Korea Copyright Commission says human creative contribution is required for a work to be copyrightable, but the boundary for generative-AI-assisted works remains unclear.[5] The columnist also reported that technology could not yet fully identify AI-generated music unless producers disclosed its use.[4]