Recently, Crown Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia officially visited Seoul for the first time in three years. This is also a trip to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Yesterday, incumbent President Yoon Seok-yeol hosted Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the presidential residence. In particular, during the reception of Arab Crown Prince, the Korean media also revealed that BTS's special object was displayed in the Presidential residence and its special diplomatic significance.
That shows the great influence of BTS not only in music but also in economics and politics:
President Yoon Suk-yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had a meeting and discussion at the Blue House yesterday. President Yoon noted that Saudi Arabia is Korea's largest trading partner in the Middle East, and is key to the country's economy and energy security. Therefore, he attaches great importance to the meeting with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
More specifically, when President Yoon Seok-yeol hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, a 'limited edition' album by BTS was displayed at the President's official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul. It's the limited edition version of Proof titled, “Proof (Collector’s Edition)”. It is considered to contain the identity of BTS, from special content including in-depth interviews with each member to the packaging of various compositions to express BTS.
This album is now out of production and very difficult to buy. According to Korean media research, in preparation for the visit of Crown Prince Bin Salman, President Yoon's wife, Kim Gun-hee, asked the producers to provide it to ensure the Crown Prince Arab.
According to multiple officials in the presidential secretary's office on the 18th, the interior of the official residence where President Yoon held meetings and lunches with Crown Prince bin Salman has been decorated with album ' Proof ( Collector's Edition ) ' by BTS. The First Lady also gave this album as a precious cutural gift to the Crown Prince. The reason for the special and unique appearance of BTS' limited album during this visit was because Crown Prince Bin Salman is known to be an avid BTS fan. He is reportedly smiled with dancing eyes when seeing his favorite idol group!
Crown Prince Bin Salman's fanaticism of BTS was also well known when BTS held a solo concert as a non-Arab group for the first time in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The media also said that the appearance of BTS' concert here was at the invitation of the Crown Prince.
The crown prince hopes that the visit and performance of BTS - one of the most influential groups in the world - can relax restrictions on many forms of entertainment. Moreover, the appearance of BTS also helped the Crown Prince to reform the country both socially and economically, and women were allowed to go to King Fahd International Stadium - where they had been banned for many years.
The media assessed that the use of BTS' album during the meeting of the Crown Prince was aimed at enhancing the positive outcome of the negotiations. This is a wise move because BTS is not only a symbol of Korean culture but also helps to connect with many other countries, especially in the context that the Crown Prince of Arab loves this group very much.
At the end of the high-level meeting yesterday, South Korea and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement to strengthen cooperation and build a "new strategic partnership towards the future". On the same day, companies from the two countries signed 26 memorandums of cooperation, including S-Oil's $7 billion petrochemical project. This is the positive result that the Korean President has been waiting for.
Korean media also commented that the indirect appearance and direct influence of BTS earlier also contributed significantly to the success of the cooperation relationship between the two countries. This is also not the first time BTS has been used in diplomatic dialogues between Korea and other countries.
