Nvidia CEO toasts South Korea partners over BBQ, soju in Hongdae

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang celebrated a successful year with South Korea's top business executives, sharing Korean barbecue, soju, and beer in Seoul. The gathering included leaders from SK Group, LG Group, and Naver.

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Go Korea! SK, LG, Naver, cheers!

Huang visited a popular pork belly restaurant in the Hongdae neighborhood, where he toasted SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin. The group later moved to a fried chicken chain, where Huang joined the local custom of drinking somaek, a mix of soju and beer.

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Business is booming! Bbang!

Speaking to reporters, Huang expressed gratitude to his South Korean partners, stating, "Business is booming!" He announced Nvidia's introduction of four new businesses – Vera Rubin, Vera, RTX Spark, and Jetson Thor – and the establishment of a prominent research center in Korea. He highlighted that these new products utilize memory chips from Korean suppliers like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

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Korea is doing very well; my partners in Korea are very important to me. So I came to Korea to thank them, celebrate and congratulate them for such an incredible year. This is just a beginning.

Earlier in the day, Huang visited T1 Base Camp, an esports internet cafe, to acknowledge Nvidia's 25-year partnership in gaming. He met with Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, a renowned League of Legends player, emphasizing the company's origins in gaming. Huang also expressed his enjoyment of Korean culture, mentioning an interest in K-dramas and fried chicken.

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My big gift (to Korea) is that I brought four new businesses: Vera Rubin, Vera, RTX Spark, Jetson Thor. Of course, we are also building a very prominent research centre here.