The Humanoid Robot Future Has Arrived at a South Korean Park. Sort of.
This park in Seoul — opened in the summer by Galaxy Corporation, an entertainment and technology company that represents major K-pop singers — offers one version, in which robots not only ease our burdens but also entertain us, dance alongside us and act as...
Key takeaways
- In early October 2026 DEEP Robotics deployed a batch of its DR02 humanoid robots for field testing in Hangzhou’s Xihu District, where they patrolled busy urban intersections and tourist sites, using visual perception to spot safety violations such as e‑bike riders without helmets and issuing voice reminders to improve traffic order.
- Panasonic announced it will develop humanoid robots that “aim to begin making the machines by 2029” and plans to use them in plants and warehouses.
- Boston Dynamics recently hired an ex‑Amazon AI chief to lead the company, and reports indicate the firm was “only making four of its Atlas humanoid robots per month.” YYForce opened a “Robotics Training, Data and Experience Center” in Singapore on Oct.
- 06 2026 to support humanoid‑robot training and workflow testing for hospitality, cleaning, security, delivery and facility‑management tasks.
- NASA is working on “humanoid robots designed to work alongside” astronauts for future Moon and Mars missions.
This park in Seoul — opened in the summer by Galaxy Corporation, an entertainment and technology company that represents major K-pop singers — offers one version, in which robots not only ease our burdens but also entertain us, dance alongside us and act as our companions. That future is nearly here, it suggests.
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Yan Zhuang is a Times reporter in Seoul who covers breaking news.
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News I went to Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul to see how we might one day live with robots. It was part cutting-edge technology, part theatrics.
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By Yan Zhuang
Visuals by Jiwoong Hong
Reporting from Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul.
Oct. 5, 2026
The robot waves at me. I tentatively wave back. Staring into its glassy black face, I can’t quite tell if it is actually responding to what I’m doing or just following commands from a handler standing a few feet away.
I offer my hand and it mirrors the gesture. When I try to shake its gloved hand, its arm does not budge.
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I’m at Galaxy Robot Park in South Korea, experiencing the future — or, at least, a vision of one. By now, millions have seen viral videos of humanoid robots. At their best, they beat athletics world records and perform complicated synchronized dances. At their worst, they run headfirst into walls and burst into flames. Some have accidentally kicked and slapped children.
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The implicit promise of robots that look like us is that one day, they will be able to act like us too. Many see them as the ultimate embodiment of the artificial intelligence revolution.
But how close are we to that future? And what role do we want robots to play in it?
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