Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri met boy band Monsta X during his trip to Korea to get a taste of what K-pop is and how one of the world’s most popular social media platforms can better connect K-pop to a global audience.

“K-pop is not only huge here in Korea, but in Indonesia and it is growing more and more in the US as well,” he said at the press conference held at the Facebook Korea office on Monday. “I met a group called Monsta X yesterday and they are basically professional selfie takers, so I was trying to get a selfie with them. They talked to me about how they are going to be in the states touring later this year.”

Adam Mosseri and Monsta X (Mosseri's Instagram)

On the previous day, Mosseri visited the filming of music program “SBS Inkigayo” to experience K-pop and posted a selfie with Monsta X on his Instagram account. “Immersing myself in K-pop with Monsta X. These guys are great ?- super fun, sharp and friendly,” he wrote on his post.

He also mentioned how girl group BlackPink was gaining popularity in the states and would be playing at one of the world’s largest music festival Coachella.

“It is exciting to see K-pop reach outside of Korea. Korea has a lot more to offer than K-pop, like lot of things are happening in film, TV and K-drama,” he said.

Mosseri stressed Korea as the important market for Instagram as an innovation powerhouse and leader of global trends, while adding K-pop and esports were the types of content with the most interest globally. Korea is one of the first countries he is visiting since he took helm of the Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing platform last October, after Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger resigned.

The company, which boasts more than 1 billion active users said K-pop has been one of the most popular and talked-about musical genres on Instagram in the past four years since 2015. Indonesia, US and Brazil were among the top countries interacting with K-pop content on the platform outside of Korea, emphasizing that Instagram was enabling the connection between K-pop artists and fans.

“I believe there is more that we can do to make Instagram more relevant and interesting to people in Korea and I also think there is more we can do to make the rest of the world understand what’s amazing about Korea,” he said. “I am excited about IGTV and more broadly videos, especially with K-pop. K-pop is music but much more than music. You don’t get the full experience unless you have the visual side of the tool. Not just the IGTV, but video on the broader side, there is a lot more to be done to help understand Korea, and use our platform to reach more all over the world.”

When asked about any new partnerships or business plans with K-pop stars and agencies, a Facebook Korea official declined to talk about details, but added partnership with stars occur individually at each time.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri (left) and actress Kim So-hyun (Facebook Korea)

Popular actress Kim So-hyun also attended the press conference, who won Instagram Award for Emerging Account of 2018. Kim, who has more than 7.1 million followers, is one of the fastest-growing accounts globally.

“I see Instagram as a place where I can communicate with fans fast and conveniently,” she said. “I try to communicate easily with fans, as If I am talking to my friends.”

She also directly follows over 7,000 accounts. “More than half of the accounts I follow are my fans’ accounts,” she said. I also follow accounts on dogs, pets videos and photos, and illustrations and pictures.”

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)