Overview
- Speaking in Gyeongju, Kim Nam-joon delivered the cultural session keynote and became the first Korean artist to address the APEC CEO Summit.
- He characterized K-pop as a 360-degree cultural package spanning music, performance, visuals, storytelling and social media, likening its mix to bibimbap and describing culture as a freely flowing river.
- RM thanked BTS’s fandom, saying ARMY helped carry his voice to the Billboard Music Awards, the Grammys, the United Nations, the White House and now APEC.
- He recalled early hurdles when BTS was labeled “non-English” and fielded questions about North or South Korea, contrasting those experiences with K-culture’s current global visibility.
- The business forum gathered leaders and top executives, as HYBE participated as a diamond sponsor and showcased its global operations, underscoring pop culture’s growing institutional recognition.