On October 29, BTS' RM took the stage at the APEC CEO Summit as one of the keynote speakers of the event. The BTS idol emerged as the first K-pop artist to be chosen as the keynote speaker at the important event. Kim Namjoon, aka RM, gave a long speech on the second day of the event, which started on October 28.In his lengthy speech, BTS' RM also opened up about his early days as an artist, recalling his cultural struggles. The idol said:"When we said we are artists from Korea, they didn't ask about our music. They asked, are you from North Korea or South Korea? We had to explain where Korea was before talking about our music”BTS' RM talked about emerging artists of this generation and gave a shoutout to ARMYsKim Namjoon also mentioned many other important points in his speech. As an artist, BTS' RM urged the guests at the APEC CEO Summit to help creators and artists around them. He requested them to offer financial help to emerging artists so that their creativity can bloom. He added that this will eventually lead to the growth of culture and economy.“As a creator and an artist of this generation I'd like to use this opportunity to make a request to the leaders and distinguished guests of APEC, there are creators all around the world, please help them, give them the financial support so that their own creativity can bloom, give them the opportunities so that their talents can really shine, when you think about investing in tomorrow's generations, think about culture as well as economics.”The idol also expressed how he was lucky to meet his band members. He also gave a shoutout to BTS fandom, ARMY.“I'm a very lucky person. I'm lucky to have met these 6 other members of BTS. I'm Lucky that I met our producer Hitman Bang who gave us full support that we could make the music with love. But most importantly, Im lucky I met ARMY, who accept our music not just as a diversion, but as our shared language of life, and by the way ARMY is the name of the official BTS fandom for your information. Shout to ARMY all over the world!!”South Korea Prepares For APEC Summit - Source: GettyBTS' RM also touched upon the growing popularity of K-pop. He compared K-pop to the popular Korean dish bibimbap as a mix of different genres of music. He went on to say that when cultural barriers break, creative energies explode.“K-pop is like bibimbap - Korea's unique aesthetics mixed with hip-hop, R&B, EDM. Success didn't happen because one culture was better, it came from respecting diversity while holding on to Korea's identity. When cultural barriers come down, there's an explosion of creative energy,' BTS's RM tells APEC CEOs as first K-pop artist keynote speaker.”The APEC CEO Summit is a four day event, which started on October 28 and will conclude on October 31. The event is conducted in Gyeonju, South Korea.