SMTOWN Winter Album 2022


SM Entertainment, Seoul, Korea

TEAM Content & Promotion, Artist Content Center (Ashley Kim, Yoon-Jin Chae)
YEAR Nov 2022 - Jan 2023
ALBUM LINK 
SMTOWN SOCIALS YouTube | Instagram |TikTok


As the Producer & Project Manager for the 2022 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU PALACE album promotion, I led and managed content production, art direction, promotion, and social media strategy. From conceptualizing, directing, and editing digital content to executing a global social media rollout, I created a cohesive and engaging promotional campaign across platforms.

I was a... producer, art director, video editor, project manager, and social media manager.


Background 


The SMTOWN Winter Albums are annual projects at SM Entertainment, bringing together the company’s full roster of artists while expanding on the SMCU (SM Culture Universe) through unique concepts each year. The 2022 Winter Album, themed SMCU PALACE, was accompanied by a virtual & live-audience concert on New Year’s Day 2023, further immersing fans into the SMCU world.



photo courtesy of SM Entertainment

Process


To capture the festive spirit and highlight the album release and concert, we designed a Christmas-themed digital promotion spanning long-form videos to short-form content. The production posed logistical challenges—staging the shoot in a small room near the concert venue, building the set under a tight deadline, and coordinating the schedules of 50+ artists while ensuring the theme resonated with both rookie and veteran groups.

To bring this vision to life, we conceptualized an advent calendar and transformed it into a giant interactive set, filling each slot with Christmas-themed games and props designed for artists to engage with. These interactive moments not only created fun and entertaining content but also served as a natural way for artists to promote the album, concert, and year-end festivities, making the campaign feel more personal and engaging for fans. I also led the art direction and overall visual execution, ensuring the theme was carried cohesively across set design, production, and final digital content.


the set
mock-up for the set design
color palette
on-set camera angles
calendar slots with props

Bringing the Mystery Calendar to Life:
Direction, Production & Visual Storytelling


Planned, scripted, and directed the promotional video series Mystery Calendar at SMCU PALACE 🎁, recording a total of 1.2M+ views across two episodes on YouTube.
Edited Episodes 1 & 2 (video, audio, color, text, file management) using Final Cut Pro.
Directed and coordinated shoots with 50+ artists, ensuring a smooth production within budget and schedule. Managed cross-functional collaboration, working with XFN teams, camera crew, art team, and artist management. 
Led art direction, developing a holiday-themed visual concept inspired by advent calendars and carrying the theme into set design, prop selection, and overall visual styling.


Mystery Calendar at SMCU PALACE 🎁 | EP. 01


Mystery Calendar at SMCU PALACE 🎁 | EP. 02






Extending the Theme into
Social Media Promotion


Led the social media promotion for the album across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on the official SMTOWN social accounts. Developed short-form digital content aligned with the Mystery Calendar video series theme, maximizing fan engagement and visibility. Shaped the campaign and rollout plan, leading concept development and social media strategy, contributing to a total of 21.5M+ views across all videos on TikTok & 22M+ views on Instagram Reels.







Bringing the Celebration Live:
New Year's Livestream Concert


Managed the live streaming of the New Year’s Day concert across 14 official SMTOWN and artist social media accounts (IG Stories & TikTok), overseeing on-site setup, real-time monitoring, and data analysis. Worked closely with TikTok and Meta reps to ensure technical execution and in-app promotion, delivering a seamless livestream experience that garnered 4.8M views on TikTok and 10M+ views across 13 Instagram accounts.





Behind-the-Scenes Videos:
Bringing Fans Closer to the Campaign


In K-pop, behind-the-scenes videos are highly popular as they give fans a glimpse into off-the-record moments and the genuine dynamics between artists. As part of the campaign, I produced and/or edited—and in some cases, shot—these BTS videos, adding depth by highlighting the artists' efforts in bringing the project to life while also revealing different perspectives and unseen moments that enriched the overall storytelling.


Editor
Editor

Producer
Producer
Producer
Editor & Producer
© ASHLEY J. KIM 2025