Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel highlight cultural exchange and Sweden’s role in shaping global pop music
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband Prince Daniel visited SM Entertainment in Seoul on Thursday as part of their official trip to South Korea, where they explored the creative process behind K-pop and discussed future cultural collaboration between the two countries.
During their visit, the royal couple toured key creative spaces including recording studios, artist training rooms and songwriting camps. They were briefed on SM Entertainment’s global music production system and advanced technological infrastructure, showing particular interest in the long-standing creative partnership between Korean and Swedish songwriters — a collaboration that has helped define K-pop’s global sound.
Prince Daniel, after observing the production process, praised the company’s artistic environment, saying, “SM is a true music company.”
The couple also met rookie girl group Hearts2Hearts, who debuted in February. The members shared stories about their training and musical journey, presenting the royals with signed albums and merchandise.
In a subsequent roundtable with SM Entertainment executives, both sides exchanged views on K-pop’s global reach and the sustainability of its creative ecosystem.
“SM has long valued Sweden’s musical creativity and technical innovation, and we hope to continue building opportunities for both industries to grow together,” said SM Entertainment co-CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk.
“We are proud that Sweden has contributed to the development of K-pop and deeply appreciate SM’s thoughtful and warm hospitality today,” Princess Victoria said.
