When Jensen charmed suits & streets

For one Friday night, Hongdae wasn’t Seoul’s trendiest neighbourhood. It was Jensen Huang’s stage. The Nvidia chief executive landed in Seoul and promptly set the district ablaze – not with hyper-powered graphic-processing units, but with pork belly, fried chicken and an unusual gathering .Around a sizzling Korean barbecue table sat a literal who’s-who of South Korea’s tech corporate royalty – from SK Group, LG Group and Naver Corp. They were busy sharing somaek, the classic, dangerous blend of soju and beer, samgyeopsal and laughter with the man at the centre of the global AI boom. The evening capped a whirlwind day that showcased why Huang has become something closer to a rock star than a tech executive.He kicked off Friday speaking to reporters, casually answering questions and dropping important news for the chip industry: all three major memory titans, Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, had been cleared to supply the most cutting-edge high-bandwidth memory required for Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform. For a country that dominates advanced memory manufacturing, it was a significant endorsement.Then came a pilgrimage to Nvidia’s spiritual roots. Huang met Faker, Korea’s legendary esports deity. Huang has long portrayed gaming as the foundation upon which Nvidia was built. “Korea was the origin of esports,” he told a roaring crowd, as he fittingly gifted Faker with the RTX 5090 – the holy grail of consumer gaming hardware. Photos were snapped, fans celebrated and social media lit up.But the real spectacle began after sunset. As word spread that Huang was dining at a local joint cheekily named Hey Bro, It’s Me!, crowds gathered outside, spilling over the sidewalks and swallowing street corners. Shoppers, tourists and die-hard tech enthusiasts stood shoulder to shoulder hoping for a glimpse. Huang, ever the showman, did not disappoint.Stepping out to greet the crowd, he waved, cheered and handed out food and drinks to reporters and bystanders. The energy and ambience was more “K-pop idol fan-meet” than a get-together of some of the world’s most influential tech titans. When the barbecue wrapped, the party migrated to a second round of Korean fried chicken, with Huang’s wife, Lori, joining them.Yet, beneath the grease, smoke, and corporate camaraderie lay an intensely serious purpose. Nvidia is preparing to launch several major products next year, and Huang is dependent on Korea’s industrial prowess to actually get them to market.