G-Dragon captivated global leaders as the official ambassador for the 2025 APEC Summit welcome dinner, held on October 31 at the Lahan Select Hotel in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The K-pop icon’s commanding presence and genre-blending performance turned the diplomatic event into a cultural spectacle. Dressed in a tuxedo adorned with the South Korean flag and a reimagined traditional gat, G-Dragon opened with a fusion of K-pop and traditional Korean sounds before delivering hits like Power, Home Sweet Home, and Drama. The crowd—including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping—was seen recording the performance on their phones, visibly enthralled by the star’s charisma. The night even turned Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard into an instant fan, as he followed G-Dragon on social media following the event, underscoring the artist’s enduring global influence.
Following his electrifying APEC performance, G-Dragon’s global influence was on full display as Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard took to Instagram to express his admiration. Ebrard followed the star’s account and shared clips from his summit itinerary set to Big Bang hits Fantastic Baby and Tonight. He later posted a fan video of G-Dragon performing with the playful caption, “Is this the true king of K-pop?” adorned with heart emojis, even tagging the artist and asking, “Will you visit Mexico?” while proudly mentioning his front-row seat. The fascination spread beyond Mexico, with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong remarking that APEC was about more than just trade, commending South Korea for hosting a “grand gala dinner show featuring K-pop star G-Dragon as the APEC ambassador.” The incident underscored G-Dragon’s unrivaled cultural reach, bridging diplomacy and pop culture on a global stage.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined the social media buzz by posting G-Dragon’s Drama performance after Malaysian K-pop fans urged him to share it. He added the hashtag #KpopForever, which G-Dragon later liked, and the video amassed about 117,000 views as of November 3. Demonstrating cultural diplomacy, G-Dragon presented world leaders with a special cheering package bearing the message Peace with Create. He reflected that music holds the power to unite people beyond borders and languages and expressed his commitment as an artist representing Korea to sing for a brighter future, continually pushing creative boundaries and reaching new heights. The moment underscored his role not only as a musical trailblazer but also as a bridge fostering global harmony through culture.
