Gabi, a member of the girl group BLACKSWAN, garnered attention when she attended the state banquet at the Blue House welcoming the President of Brazil.
On the 23rd, the Blue House hosted a banquet to welcome Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his state visit to South Korea. The event was attended by government officials and economic leaders from both countries, including Gabi, a Brazilian member of BLACKSWAN.
At the event, a moment where President Lula greeted Gabi with a kiss on the back of her hand was captured and became a hot topic. The video, showing President Yoon Suk-yeol watching the interaction with a smile, was posted on President Lula’s official Instagram account and had surpassed 1.2 million views by the morning of the 26th.
President Lula also posted a video using BLACKSWAN’s “Cat & Mouse” as background music, which exceeded 5.6 million views.
The invitation of Gabi to the banquet is said to have been influenced by the Brazilian first lady, Rosangela da Silva’s interest in K-pop. The first lady had shown a strong interest in Korean pop music prior to the visit and welcomed the fact that there was a Brazilian member in BLACKSWAN.
In fact, she reportedly had a meal with Gabi in Gangnam, Seoul, on the 22nd, ahead of their official schedule, and shared their time together on her social media.
BLACKSWAN is a four-member global girl group composed entirely of foreign members. Gabi, who was selected in a 4000-to-1 competition during the 2022 DR Music global audition, was born in 2002 in Santa Catarina, Brazil, and is the only Brazilian member actively promoting in a K-pop girl group.
DR Music, BLACKSWAN’s agency, commented, “It was an unexpected invitation, but it is a great honor if we can contribute to cultural exchange between Korea and Brazil. We are always prepared to participate in meaningful events like this.”