Odisha's K-pop icon gets a mention in South Korean President's speech. Watch
President Lee Jae-Myung of South Korea praised the remarkable journey of Sriya Lenka, an Odisha girl who became India's first K-pop star, during his visit to India.
The President of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, recently highlighted the inspiring journey of an 'Odisha girl' who became a K-pop star, during his three-day visit to India. During a banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday evening, President Lee expressed his gratitude for the warm hospitality extended to him by President Murmu and the people of India.
In his address, he spoke about 22-year-old Sriya Lenka, who made history in May 2022 by becoming India's first K-pop star. She was selected as a new member of the K-pop girl band Blackswan after a rigorous global audition process.
President Lee stated, "The power of culture transcends boundaries and connects dreams. A young girl from Odisha province, the hometown of Madam President, became a K-pop star and came home to show the dream she had nurtured in Korea."
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He further added, "Our two countries have become true partners who work together to realise our dreams. I also hope that the lamp our two countries would light together will shine its light to reach the lowest levels of our societies as President Murmu mentioned and continue to shine as a beacon of hope around the world."
The banquet in honour of President Lee was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and other dignitaries. Tamil actor Priyanka Mohan also attended the event and shared memories of meeting Shashi Tharoor in her Instagram Stories.
Sriya Lenka, hailing from Odisha, joined the K-pop girl group Blackswan on May 26, 2022.
The band, which debuted in 2020, was started by DR Music in 2011 and currently includes members such as the leader and Korean singer Go Young Heun (Youngheun), Belgium-based Senegalese singer Fatou Samba (Fatou), Korean singer-dancer Kim Da Hye (Judy), and Brazilian-Japanese singer Larissa Ayumi Cartes Sakata (Leia).