RM, Jisoo, Cha Eun-Woo, Kim Hye-Yoon, Zhao Lusi, Win Metawin Among 2025 Asia-Pacific U30 Outstanding Young Leaders Honoured At APEC

Several

top Korean stars found place in the 2025 Asia-Pacific U30 Outstanding Young Leaders list. From BTS leader RM to Blackpink member Jisoo, actors Kim Hye-Yoon and Cha Eunwoo were part of the esteemed list. The list was unveiled by Asia-Pacific Entrepreneurs Association on November 1 during the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. It honoured 143 individuals under 30 from 21 economies for their innovations in business, technology, sports, academia, and arts.ALSO READ: BTS Leader RM Draws Parallels Between Korean Dish Bibimbap, K-Pop Music And ARMYs Can't Keep Calm

2025 Asia Pacific Under 30

APEC Secretary-General Eduardo Pedrosa praised the honourees for their leadership in addressing challenges like climate change and digital transformation. Other names from the entertainment sector also included Thai actors Win Metawin and Bright Vachirawit, Hollywood star Zendaya, along with Chinese actors Zhao Lusi, Zhang Linghe, Wang Anyu and Zhang Zifeng. As the names were announced, fans broke into celebrations on social media, with the trend garnering over 110,000 engagements on X (formerly Twitter) alone.

RM at APEC Summit

BTS rapper RM aka Kim Namjoon had last week made history by becoming the first-ever K-pop star to serve as a keynote speaker at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which returned to South Korea this year. On October 29, he addressed a hall filled with global policymakers, and innovators, the BTS leader spoke the audience with inspiring speech. He also likened K-pop music to the dish Bibimbap.RM’s speech wasn’t just about BTS, it was about the evolution of K-pop itself. “K-Pop is not just a genre of music, it is a 360 degrees total package of music, dance, performance, visual style, storytelling, music video, and even social media,” he said.