Korean, Japanese first ladies visit K-pop agency during bilateral summit

First ladies Kim Keon Hee and Yuko Kishida visited a Korean entertainment agency during Kishida's two-day visit for diplomatic talks with President Yoon.

First lady Kim Keon Hee, right, and Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida visit a K-pop entertainment agency in Seoul to encourage idol trainees preparing to debut in Japan on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

First lady Kim Keon Hee and her Japanese counterpart, Yuko Kishida, visited a Korean entertainment agency to encourage idol trainees on Friday while discussing strengthening bilateral cultural exchange.

The visit came as a part of a spousal event arranged during outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's two-day visit to Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kim noted that 39 percent of the total exports of the Korean music industry are to Japan, according a statement from the presidential office, which did not specify which entertainment agency the parties had visited.

The office said Kim asked Japanese idol trainees about their motivations for coming to Korea at a young age.

One trainee was quoted as saying, "I came to Korea because I was so moved after seeing BTS's performance."

Kishida told the Japanese trainees that they were the "pride of Japan" because they were working hard to become members of K-pop groups, which are popular around the world.

"Thanks to your efforts, the people of Korea and Japan are opening their hearts and deepening understanding," she added.

First lady Kim Keon Hee, back right, and Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida, back left, visit a recording studio at a Korean entertainment agency in Seoul on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

Kim and first lady Kishida toured the entertainment agency's facilities, including the dance practice room, recording studio and styling room, and were briefed on the process of producing K-pop albums and nurturing idol trainees.

The two first ladies last met last September. They had met some five times since last year amid the revival of shuttle diplomacy between the two countries.

The Korean presidential couple later hosted Prime Minister Kishida and his wife for a two-hour dinner banquet at the Blue House in central Seoul.

In his dinner address, Yoon stressed that since his visit to Tokyo last March, the two countries have been able to move forward based on "national interest and solid trust" built with Kishida, the presidential office said.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center right, and first lady Kim Keon Hee, right, pose for a photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center left, and Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida ahead of their dinner banquet at the Blue House in central Seoul on Friday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

On Saturday, Prime Minister Kishida met Korean and Japanese students studying at Seoul National University and emphasized the importance of bilateral exchanges to the future of the two countries.

Kishida later concluded his two-day visit to Seoul and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, thanking the Korean presidential couple for their warm welcome.

"Please work hard to further develop Korea-Japan ties," he wrote.

Kishida emphasized the importance of Korea-Japan relations by posting four messages related to bilateral ties to social media during his visit to Seoul over Friday and Saturday.

"This is my third visit to Korea, and President Yoon has also been to Japan twice," Kishida wrote. He recalled that "eating sukiyaki [Japanese hot pot] together in Ginza was an especially happy memory" made during their summit in Tokyo in March 2023.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]