Lee Jae-myung, Wife Join K-Pop Fans in Mexico City

President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Mexico, drew attention by stopping at a local Korean Wave (Hallyu) event with First Lady Kim Hye-kyung. The two toured a Korean goods and culture expo set up at Mexico City's World Trade Center, checking in on how Korean companies are expanding into Latin America.

At the booth for Cake, a Naver affiliate, they observed a program that teaches Korean using BTS content; Kim asked about pricing after showing interest in learning the language through song lyrics. At Amorepacific's booth, the president tried an AI-powered skin analyzer that measured his hydration and pores — and when the company's CEO raised concerns about Mexico's tariff hikes, Lee followed up by asking for specifics on how steep the increases were. The delegation also checked out Kia's hybrid SUV, LG Electronics' transparent OLED display, and a Samsung Electronics showcase, plus sampled ice cream, ramen, and household goods at the Binggrae, Nongshim, and LG Household & Health Care booths.

The two then made an unplanned stop at an impromptu K-pop dance-along where a local dance crew and roughly 150 fans had gathered for 'random play dance' — a format where a shuffled playlist of K-pop hits cues fans to perform each song's choreography from memory. When the emcee hit play on a BTS track, the crowd broke into the routine and the couple applauded. Lee encouraged the dancers to keep being people who bring others joy through song and dance, while Kim recalled hearing how enthusiastically fans had responded when BTS visited the same country back in May. Afterward, at a Korea-Mexico business exchange attended by roughly 300 corporate and government officials from both countries, Lee said he hopes trade agreement talks can resume given how well the two economies' industrial structures complement each other.

In the afternoon, the couple visited Zona Rosa, a neighborhood known locally as 'Little Seoul,' to catch up with Korean expats. The district has been home to a Korean community since the 1990s, and that evening the president crossed paths with residents grabbing Korean food before a Stray Kids concert and young fans holding light sticks. A presidential office official said the visit was meant to check in on the daily lives of Koreans building a life abroad and strengthen ties between the two countries' peoples.