Stray Kids concert, K-Expo, Random Play Dance: South Korea's president does two days of K-culture diplomacy in Mexico City
President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-gyung spent Sept. 25 in Mexico City hitting a K-Expo, a Stray Kids concert, and a Random Play Dance event.
Two days, three K-pop moments
President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-gyung packed September 25 (local time) in Mexico City with back-to-back K-culture stops: the 2026 Mexico K-Expo at the World Trade Center in the morning, Zona Rosa in the afternoon, and a Stray Kids concert at GNP Stadium in the evening.
At the K-Expo, the presidential couple made an unannounced appearance at a Random Play Dance session. Roughly 150 local K-pop fans and dance teams were there. The playlist ran BSS (부석순) tracks Jeans and Fighting back to back, then BTS's Dynamite. Lee addressed the crowd directly:
"I am very happy to meet all of you who love K-pop. I hope that through K-pop, you become dancers and singers who make someone happy."
The expo floor had 120 Korean companies and organizations. The day before, 34 contracts worth $12.5 million were signed during the event — a figure Lee's team noted with interest during the visit.
From Zona Rosa to GNP Stadium
After the expo, the couple visited Zona Rosa, Mexico City's main Korean commercial district. Korean settlement here dates to the 1990s. Restaurants, grocery stores, side dish shops, beauty salons, cafes. Locals call it "Little Seoul." They greeted members of the Korean diaspora and spoke with residents.
That evening at GNP Stadium for Stray Kids, Lee spoke with Mexican youth about K-pop. "Culture not only connects people to people, but also seems to connect nations to nations," he said.
Mexico is the world's 14th-largest content market and a major importer of K-beauty and K-food in Latin America. A Korea-Mexico Business Forum with roughly 300 government officials and business representatives from both sides also took place during the visit. (The Stray Kids crowd probably didn't need the trade stats, but the optics of a sitting president in the pit are hard to beat.)
Senate meeting the day before
On September 24 (local time), Lee met Mexican Senate President Ihinio Martinez Miranda and leaders of six parliamentary negotiation groups. He wrote in the Senate guestbook: "Let the governments and parliaments of Korea and Mexico open a new and bright future together."
Lee asked the Senate to support follow-up measures from the Korea-Mexico summit and the development of a "Korea-Mexico strategic partnership." He focused on cooperation in AI, digital, aerospace, and advanced technology and defense. Martinez said he expects the visit to be an important opportunity to develop the strategic partnership further.
The welcome ceremony included House Speaker Raul Bolaños Cacho Cue and Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco on the Mexican side. Korea's delegation included Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, National Security Advisor Wi Sung-lac, and Ambassador to Mexico Lee Ju-il, among others. Mexican senators noted that Korea has become the Asian country Mexican youth most want to visit.
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