Billionaires Turn Seoul Dinner Into a Surprise Treat
Three tech billionaires turned an ordinary evening in Seoul into a story everyone’s talking about. The trio—Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Chung Eui-sun—walked into a popular fried chicken restaurant on Thursday night and left diners speechless when they paid for everyone’s meal.
The unlikely dinner took place at Kkanbu Chicken, a well-loved spot in South Korea’s capital, famous for “chimaek”—the classic pairing of crispy fried chicken and cold draft beer. The visit happened just before the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, where Asia’s top leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, were set to gather.
Jensen Huang Embraces Korean Culture
Huang, whose company Nvidia is now valued near $5 trillion, seemed completely at ease blending in with locals. Smiling and chatting with fans outside the restaurant, he said,
“I love fried chicken and beer with my friends, so Kkanbu is a perfect place, right?”
In Korean slang, Kkanbu means “close friend,” which perfectly suited the atmosphere. Inside, Huang laughed with his fellow CEOs, sampling wings and sharing baskets of chicken with other diners.
“The chicken wings were so good. Have you been here before? It’s incredible, right?” he asked cheerfully.
He even held up baskets of fried chicken to offer others around him, adding a friendly, down-to-earth charm to the high-powered dinner.
A Golden Bell and a Generous Gesture
The night took an unforgettable turn when Huang rang the restaurant’s “golden bell.” In Korean dining culture, this signal means someone is picking up the entire tab. The crowd erupted in cheers as they realized every meal in the restaurant was on the billionaires.
According to South Korean news outlet Yonhap, Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong paid for the first round, while Hyundai’s Chung Eui-sun covered the next. Huang’s enthusiasm, however, set the tone for the generous gesture.
Tech Titans Meet Over Fried Chicken
Their relaxed evening came just before major trade discussions at the APEC summit. The timing underscored how business and camaraderie often mix in unexpected ways.
Access to AI chips, the technology powering everything from autonomous cars to data centers, remains a hot topic between the U.S. and China. With Nvidia leading the global AI chip market, Huang’s presence in South Korea carried both social and strategic significance.
Nvidia Strengthens AI Partnerships in South Korea
The following day, Huang met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the summit. During the meeting, he announced that Nvidia would supply over 260,000 GPUs to South Korean companies, including Samsung, Hyundai, Naver, and SK.
The partnership aims to boost AI-driven innovation across industries, especially in autonomous vehicles and physical AI systems. Huang emphasized that collaborating with these major South Korean firms would help advance real-world applications of artificial intelligence.
A Night of Friendship and Forward Thinking
What started as a casual dinner ended as both a symbol of goodwill and a moment of global collaboration. As the three tech leaders shared laughter, chicken, and beer, they also strengthened ties that could shape the future of AI innovation in Asia.
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