First lady attends packed K-pop concert in New Delhi

First Lady Kim Hea Kyung, second from left, watches a K-pop concert, titled “K-Dream Stage: All India K-Pop Grand Championship 2026" with other dignitaries in New Delhi, Monday, on the occasion of President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to India. Yonhap

NEW DELHI — First Lady Kim Hea Kyung attended a K-pop concert filled with 3,000 local fans, Monday, on the occasion of President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to India.

The concert, titled “K-Dream Stage: All India K-Pop Grand Championship 2026,” was held at Yashobhoomi, India’s largest convention and exhibition center, in New Delhi.

The event has been hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in India since 2011 as part of efforts to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries.

This year’s concert was conducted in a special “champion of champions” format, in which winners from the past five years in both the vocal and dance categories competed against one another, with the top three teams advancing to the finals.

Fans cheered loudly, and Indian media closely covered the moment as the first lady entered the venue and was greeted by Indian dignitaries.

She was accompanied by Park Jin-young, a K-pop pioneer and CEO of JYP Entertainment, who also serves as co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange.

LIP J, a Korean dancer known for waacking — a style of street dance — and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young were also present.

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, who rose to global fame through the Netflix series Squid Game, emceed the event.

“I am delighted to be part of the K-Dream Stage that connects Korea and India,” Kim said as she waved after Tripathi introduced her to the crowd. “I have seen data showing a very high favorability toward Korean culture in India, and being here in person, I can feel that enthusiasm and passion even more vividly.”

She went on to say, “Culture has the power to connect people across borders,” expressing hope that “through today’s event, we can deepen mutual understanding and empathy for each other’s cultures and further expand exchanges between our two countries.”

According to a 2026 hallyu survey, India ranked second after the Philippines among 30 countries surveyed in favorability toward Korean culture.