JUST when ARMYs didn’t think our supreme leader, BTS Kim Namjoon, also known as RM, couldn’t get any more awesome, there he was, flashing those dimples at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, an official side event of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, held at Gyeongju Arts Center in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, last Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Oh, but our man wasn’t just dashing and debonair, shoulders broad, hair neatly in place; in a short, articulate 11-minute speech, RM, who spoke on the subject “Cultural and creative industries in the APEC region and the soft power of K-culture,” told his esteemed audience about how K-pop was “a bridge that connects worlds—and I want to bring your attention to how we can work together to build this connection for tomorrow’s creative cultural ecosystem.” (Swoon.)
[FULL SPEECH] RM giving speech at the APEC CEO Summit Korea 2025! pic.twitter.com/xtv7r4Ku84
— BTS Daily⁷ (@btsdaily77) October 29, 2025
It was the first time a Korean artist ever delivered a speech at the APEC CEO summit, a prestigious global business forum. APEC 2025 Korea was a year-long series of meetings that concluded with the APEC Economic Leaders’ meeting on November 1, 2025. This marked the second time South Korea hosted the summit, having done so 20 years ago, in 2005. How different the country must have been at the time—and RM was then an 11-year-old who probably never thought he’d be standing on that podium!
Inviting the leader of K-pop supergroup BTS to talk at the global event, which had the theme “Beyond, Business, Bridge,” and which brought together over 1,700 global corporate CEOs and state-level officials from 21 member countries, was a masterstroke for the organizers. After all, BTS has dramatically elevated South Korea’s recognition—and its GDP—because of their phenomenal global popularity in the years since the band debuted in 2013.
For the morning of the event, RM arrived in a car with HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, dressed in a perfectly fitting bespoke navy blue suit by Korean suitmakers Tailorable. The website of Choson Daily reported how HYBE, the agency that handles BTS, was “the only domestic entertainment company to participate as a ‘Diamond Sponsor,’ the highest tier of official sponsors for the APEC CEO Summit.”
ARMYs were ecstatic when RM looked right at home (though infinitely more handsome, of course) in the front row beside the likes of SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won (the summit chair), Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun, LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Hanwha Group vice chairman Yeo Seung-joo. “As a creator, I feel a deep sense of pride and anticipation, especially with the fact that ‘cultural industries’ have been elevated to a key APEC agenda for the first time this year,” he began his speech.
Yet, in true self-deprecating but still authoritative form, he called himself “very lucky” to have met Bang and the other six members of BTS, as well as singling out ARMY, “a global community that embraces our music not as mere entertainment, but as a language of life.” (Yes, that loud thud was the collective sound of ARMYs fainting worldwide.) RM provided an extended punchline by distinguishing BTS ARMYs from the Army he joined recently and served for 18 months, as if to remind the distinguished guests that we was also a patriotic citizen.
On its website, APEC explained that “RM (Kim Nam-joon) demonstrates exceptional versatility across genres. As a creative powerhouse and passionate art enthusiast, he is renowned for crafting profound lyrics inspired by voracious artistic forms. His flexible and philosophical approach to music, along with cutting-edge collaborations, enables him to break creative boundaries.”
After all, this was the guy who represented BTS as a global youth ambassador and special speaker at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2018. That was when he famously exhorted youth everywhere to “Speak yourself.” He spoke again at the UN General Assembly in September 2020 and September 2021.
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Whoever wrote RM’s speech used all the right references, comparing K-pop to the favorite Korean dish bibimbap, which “combines rice with various vegetables, meat, and seasonings, and is eaten by mixing all the ingredients together. K-pop is no different… Like bibimbap, these disparate elements, while maintaining their own distinct identities, blend together to create a new result.” (ARMYs were left wondering how, if Jungkook had been at the event, he might have gotten hungry at the thought and escaped to where the cocktails were, never mind the world leaders and CEOs in attendance.)
RM ended in the most effective way, with a call to action: “As creators and artists of this era, I ask APEC leaders to provide financial support and opportunities for creators around the world to flourish their creativity. Investment in future generations must be addressed from both an economic and a cultural perspective…As leaders of APEC, your policies and support will provide a canvas of inspiration and a playground for creators around the world to unleash their creativity.”
Then, before stepping away from the podium, bowing graciously, smiling wide: “Thank you for listening.” Like anybody could help it.
Whatta guy.
