Lighting up the world like dynamite?
K-pop, or Korean pop music, has such a global reach that even President Joe Biden on Friday gave the music's fans a shout-out.
"K-pop fans are universal," he said at a Friday press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in."I can tell those who laughed know what I'm talking about."
The K-pop comment came the same day that K-pop megastars BTS released their second English language single, "Butter." The band's fans, know as "ARMY," are among the genre's most devoted.
The group's first all-English song, "Dynamite," gave them their first No. 1 debut on Billboard's Hot 100 chart last year.
The press conference marked the president's second in-person bilateral meeting during his presidency. The leaders met to discuss putting a halt to North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Biden called the nuclear capabilities of North Korea and Iran "serious threats" in his first address to a joint session of Congress last month.
During the press conference, Biden also mentioned other ways South Korea and the U.S. have bridged cultural divides.
"Our people share a long history. Our soldiers have fought alongside one another. Our scientists work side-by-side in both our countries. Our students study together, share ideas and seed new opportunities for future collaboration. And our people-to-people and cultural connections are only growing," he said.
The president also remarked on wins for South Korean actors and filmmakers during the Academy Awards the past two years. Last month, South Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in "Minari." In 2020, South Korean film "Parasite" won best picture.
"And so our two countries, our two nations have the tools and the deep connections that we need to make even stronger alliances and stronger cooperation," Biden said.
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