President Lee Highlights K-Pop’s Global Reach at Stray Kids Concert in Mexico City
President Lee Jae Myung attended part of a Stray Kids concert during his state visit to Mexico, describing the event as a vivid display of K-pop’s role in promoting South Korea abroad.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visited a Stray Kids concert in Mexico City on Friday, using the stop to highlight K-pop’s expanding cultural reach in Latin America and its role in raising South Korea’s international profile.
Lee attended the performance at GNP Seguros Stadium while on a state visit to Mexico. In a post on X, he shared a nine-second clip of the group performing “God’s Menu” and said the atmosphere allowed him to feel the power of K-pop as it spreads awareness of Korea as a cultural powerhouse around the world.
The appearance placed Korean popular culture alongside the president’s official overseas schedule. Lee also thanked J. Y. Park, the founder of Stray Kids’ agency and chair of South Korea’s Popular Culture Committee, underscoring the connection between the country’s entertainment industry and its broader cultural outreach.
Stray Kids arrived in Mexico after performances elsewhere in Latin America, including Colombia, Brazil and Argentina. The tour reflects the strong audience that Korean pop music has built across the region, where major acts increasingly stage large concerts and engage directly with local fan communities. The Mexico City event also offered Lee an opportunity to encounter that audience during his diplomatic trip.
Before visiting the concert, Lee met K-pop fans in Zona Rosa, an area of Mexico City known for Korean restaurants and businesses. A Cheong Wa Dae deputy spokesperson said the president greeted people who had stopped for Korean food before heading to the Stray Kids performance. Lee also ate lunch at a Mexican restaurant in the capital.
The sequence of events brought together music, food and person-to-person exchange, three visible components of South Korea’s cultural presence overseas. Lee’s remarks focused on the promotional effect of K-pop rather than announcing a new policy initiative. His attendance nevertheless showed how Korean entertainment can overlap with presidential diplomacy by creating informal points of contact with overseas audiences.
For Stray Kids, the Mexico City concert formed part of a wider Latin American itinerary. For the South Korean delegation, it provided a high-profile cultural moment during Lee’s state visit and a public demonstration of the enthusiasm surrounding Korean music far from home.