Instead of heading straight to a corporate boardroom, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang opted for a bustling internet cafe in Seoul to begin his five-day visit to South Korea on Friday, The Korea Herald reports. Arriving at Gimpo International Airport at 1 p.m., the tech billionaire went directly to the Hongik University area to pay homage to the vibrant gaming community that he credits with helping build his technology empire.
A hero’s welcome at T1 Base Camp
Fans armed with smartphones gathered outside T1 Base Camp, a popular «PC bang» operated by the renowned esports organisation T1. As electronic dance music thumped through the venue, staff members guided Huang through the enthusiastic crowd to meet T1’s elite League of Legends roster.
Waiting to greet him were the team’s five star players: Choi «Doran» Hyeon-joon, Moon «Oner» Hyeon-joon, Kim «Peyz» Su-hwan, Ryu «Keria» Min-seok and Lee «Faker» Sang-hyeok, who is universally recognised as the greatest player in the game’s history.
Addressing the packed venue, Huang highlighted how integral South Korea has been to Nvidia’s journey. He attributed the massive success of the GeForce line to the fiercely competitive nature of Korean gamers. He also reminisced about his earliest observations of Korean gaming culture, noting that the nation essentially invented esports as a spectator phenomenon through early competitive StarCraft broadcasts.
Exclusive hardware and the RTX Spark reveal
During a brief chat, Huang asked Faker about his current hardware setup. After the esports icon revealed he uses an RTX 5070, the Nvidia boss surprised the crowd by raffling off a premium RTX 5090 personally signed by both men.
The event also served as a platform to tease brand-new technology. Huang gave away two vouchers for the RTX Spark, an unreleased compact machine slated for an autumn launch. He described the lightweight, laptop-class device as possessing 5070-level capabilities and suggested it could completely revolutionise traditional PC architecture which has remained stagnant for decades.
One of the lucky voucher winners was Sebastian Calvo, a 23-year-old fan who had flown in from Ireland for a two-day trip. Calvo described the experience as a dream, noting that he also managed to get a T1 poster signed by all five players to take back home.
Dedication to the craft and high-level evening plans
Before concluding the 40-minute secret meetup, Huang inquired about Faker’s training regime. The gaming legend revealed that he still practises for ten hours a day and is constantly working to invent new strategies. Speaking to the press shortly afterwards, Faker expressed his gratitude for the meeting and acknowledged the vital role that high-quality graphics cards play in professional gaming.
Following his immersion in Seoul’s grassroots gaming culture, Huang’s schedule was set to take a more traditional corporate turn. On Friday evening, he was scheduled to dine at Hyeongnim Jeoyo, a local grilled pork belly restaurant located just a short walk from the cafe. There, he planned to hold a high-level dinner with top industry executives including SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group executive chair Chung Euisun, LG Group chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin.
