Nvidia's Jensen Huang: Doing Stand-Up Comedy, Flaunting "Fortune Face", and Dancing K-Pop – What's His Game?

Recently, Jensen Huang has become a huge sensation in South Korea.

He went to South Korea for business, but most of the time, it was like he was on an idol's concert tour, visiting all the popular South Korean projects. He communicated with top esports players, had barbecue with chaebol tycoons, threw the first pitch at a professional baseball game, and signed autographs and gave snacks to passers - by multiple times. He even drove up the sales of a local potato chip by nearly 8 times.

Jensen Huang also wore his classic leather jacket and appeared on a variety show for the first time in his life. On the show, he talked at length about the meaning of "success and suffering". The host complimented his nose, saying it was a sign of wealth. He wasn't modest and said, "My nose is the most fashionable." He also danced to K - POP hits.

Netizens said:

"Fortunately, Jensen Huang only stayed in South Korea for a few days. If he had stayed longer, entertainment companies might really have rushed to sign a management contract with him."

Not only in South Korea, but also in mid - May when Jensen Huang came to China, there were many highlights.

First, he went to Nanluoguxiang to eat zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste) and drink douzhi (fermented bean drink), which made many shop owners use his image on their advertising billboards to attract customers. Then he went to Taiwan, China. To avoid queuing at the night market, he paid for all the customers in the queue, which was widely praised. Wherever he went, young people lined up to take photos with him.

It's okay for entrepreneurs to take the "people - friendly" route occasionally, as it's a way to promote their companies. But Jensen Huang doesn't need to. He is the head of the world's most valuable company, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and his company doesn't have to worry about business. Why does he need to show up so frequently and "put on a show"?

Is he really trying to debut?

 Chaebol Tycoons "Serve" Barbecue, He Dances on a South Korean Variety Show, and the AI Tycoon Becomes a Sensation in South Korea

On June 5, Jensen Huang flew directly from Taiwan, China to South Korea. After getting off the plane, instead of meeting with chaebol tycoons for business, he went to an esports training base. He met with Faker (Lee Sang - hyeok), a legendary player of "League of Legends", and the entire T1 team. He also gave away the latest graphics cards as lottery prizes for fans.

That night, he went to a barbecue restaurant in Hongdae, Seoul, with Choi Tae - won, the chairman of SK Group, Koo Kwang - mo, the chairman of LG Group, and Lee Hae - jin, the chairman of Naver.

Choi Tae - won was in charge of mixing drinks. Koo Kwang - mo, the "youngest" of them, was in charge of grilling the meat and had to pour water for the "older brothers". Lee Hae - jin taught Jensen Huang how to wrap kimchi and grilled meat with perilla leaves. Jensen Huang followed his instructions and stuffed the wrapped food into his mouth in one go.

After a few rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes, Koo Kwang - mo said, "I've grilled a lot of meat. I really worked hard... I think I'm a bit drunk." Jensen Huang put his arm around Koo's shoulder and said to the phone camera, "He is a good friend."

Finally, Lee Hae - jin paid the bill. Before leaving, Jensen Huang wrote "JENSEN WAS HERE" on the table and added three words "LOVE LOVE LOVE" below it.

The next day, he participated in a variety show for the first time in his life and recorded the well - known South Korean talk show "You Quiz on the Block".

The host, Yoo Jae - suk, joked at the beginning about why he wore the leather jacket again for the variety show. Jensen Huang humorously replied that the leather jacket was his personal signature. He didn't have to worry about matching clothes when traveling on business or attending events, as it was simple and neat.

On the show, Jensen Huang told the story of his immigration to the United States at the age of 9 and his past experiences of washing dishes and cleaning toilets in a restaurant. Then he summarized the life lesson:

"In life, suffering is not necessary. But if you want to be great, you must go through pain. Just remember this: if you're not knocked down, then no matter what happens in the future, you will succeed."

The South Koreans are good at enlivening the atmosphere. They specially invited a "fortune - teller" to read Jensen Huang's face. The fortune - teller praised him for having a full forehead, especially his big nose, which was a sign of great wealth and that he was a unique tycoon.

Jensen Huang grinned from ear to ear and said with a smile, "You're right." Then he added, "My nose is the new fashion in South Korea."

At the climax of the show, as the theme song "Golden" from the Oscar - winning animation "K - POP: The Demon Hunters" played, Jensen Huang danced impromptu and joked, "Make up for the KTV I missed yesterday."

Currently, this episode of the show has been aired. It set a record high rating of 8.5% that day, breaking the show's previous record and becoming the top - rated program of the day.

Not only that, Jensen Huang also made several South Korean snacks popular. Seeing many young people chasing after him for photos, he distributed some potato chips. As a result, the sales of this snack soared by 766% that day.

In addition, Jensen Huang wore the number "93", which symbolizes the year NVIDIA was founded, and threw the first pitch at a baseball game. He also gave a speech at Seoul National University. Wherever he went, there were large crowds, making him a super sensation in South Korea.

Although Jensen Huang has left South Korea, he is still highly discussed on South Korean social platforms.

Eating Zhajiangmian at the Door, "Cutting in Line" to Buy Corn at the Night Market, and Getting a 10% Discount on Hot Pot 

In mid - May, Jensen Huang boarded a plane to China at the "last minute" and stayed for several days. His "wanderings" in China also attracted a lot of attention.

On May 15, 2026, Jensen Huang appeared at the Fangzhuanchang No. 69 Zhajiangmian Store in Nanluoguxiang, Beijing, and ordered a bowl of the signature black - pork zhajiangmian for 38 yuan. Since there were no seats in the store that day, he simply carried the bowl to the door and stood there to eat. While mixing the noodles, he asked passers - by in Chinese, "Have you ever eaten this?"

In addition to zhajiangmian, he also took photos with passers - by in Shichahai, Beijing, drank at a bar in Houhai, drank douzhi, and ate squid on the street...

After these photos and videos were shared by netizens, they immediately became a hot topic. The owners of the stores he visited wasted no time in printing his image on their advertising billboards. Netizens said that Nanluoguxiang should be renamed "Jensen Huang Street".

It has to be said that Jensen Huang's popularity really worked. Take the zhajiangmian store as an example. Less than 6 hours after Jensen Huang left, more than 40 stores in Beijing simultaneously launched a group - buying package of the "same style as Jensen Huang's visit". The relevant topic on Douyin had a cumulative exposure of 177 million times. The group - buying sales of the zhajiangmian category increased by 77%, and the brand search volume increased by 268%.

Not satisfied with his food experience in Beijing, he then went to Taiwan, China, and created many well - known "food - vlogging" moments. Local business tycoons invited him to a high - end dinner, but he declined politely. Then he took his wife to several night markets. Netizens in Taiwan, China said he was the "strongest spokesperson" for night markets.

For example, on May 24, he and his wife appeared at Raohe Night Market. There were no bodyguards to clear the way. They strolled like an ordinary middle - aged couple, but they were soon recognized by netizens, and there were plenty of photo - taking opportunities.

Jensen Huang wanted to eat roasted corn, but there was a long queue in front of the stall. He directly said to the boss, "I'll pay for everyone. Can I cut in line and get one first?" With such a good offer, others didn't object. Jensen Huang praised the corn as delicious after tasting it.

At another stall, he held two bowls of shaved ice with both hands and said "Delicious, delicious" in Minnan dialect. He also pouted and acted cute in front of the camera. In addition, he ate pepper cakes and roasted corn. According to netizens' records, he also signed "JENSEN WAS HERE" in the night - market toilet, but the authenticity is unknown. NVIDIA's official didn't refute the rumor, only saying, "A trip to Taipei isn't complete without a visit to the night market."

Regarding this, netizens in Taiwan, China said:

"This tycoon in the tech circle has no airs. On one hand, he's associated with a trillion - dollar company, and on the other, he's eating shaved ice at the night market. The contrast is amazing."

"Signing in the toilet and helping the stall owner wipe the table. This isn't a tycoon; he's clearly an approachable neighborly grandpa."

In addition, in January this year, Jensen Huang visited Shanghai and Shenzhen. In these two big cities, he also had many "people - friendly" behaviors.

In Shanghai, he went to a vegetable market, bought 2000 yuan worth of pomelos, and gave signed red envelopes to the fruit - stall owner.

In Shenzhen, he had Chaoshan beef hot pot at a hot - pot restaurant in Futian CBD. The final bill was 800 yuan, but the shop owner gave him a discount and only charged 750 yuan, which was equivalent to a 10% discount. Jensen Huang quickly thanked the owner and said he would come again if he had the chance.

All the above events took place in 2026. Since the development of AI, NVIDIA's products have become popular, and Jensen Huang's name has frequently appeared in various media. The images introduced by Bamei include "the leather - jacket tycoon", "the neighborly uncle", "the doting husband"...

Actually, netizens know well that this is just a deliberately created "persona" to give the public a direct and good impression of him. The question is, does he really need to do this?

NVIDIA has a market value of 5 trillion US dollars, ranking first in the world. He himself is a super - rich man worth hundreds of billions of dollars. His company's products are for business - to - business use, and countless tycoons are eager to get some chips from him. Wouldn't it be better for him to sit in his office like a domineering CEO every day?

Why Do Tech Tycoons Want to Be "Persona Influencers"?

Before answering the above question, it should be noted that Jensen Huang's trips to China and South Korea were by no means just for eating and drinking. If we add the "business matters" to the above timeline, it should be like this:

He came to China in January this year to maintain the supply - chain relationship in the Greater China region and attend the New Year's annual meeting of the branch company. In May, he came to China with important figures to sell chips. At the end of May, he went to Taiwan, China, and announced the release of seven new chips and his plan to enter the AI PC market. In June, he went to South Korea and signed a cooperation agreement with SK Hynix to establish an AI R & D center.

In summary:

Find buyers for existing products; find supply chains for the products being produced; create demand for future products.

Moreover, when going around to do business, why does Jensen Huang still take the time to "mingle with the people at the grassroots level"?

Actually, the reason is very simple. It all serves his "business matters":

To promote his existing products, show his partners that "he is very popular", and pave the way for the future product launches.

To be honest, NVIDIA's products such as GPUs, computing power, and server hardware are very "unapproachable" to ordinary people, and they usually won't buy them. However, high - tech products ultimately need to be sold to consumers, so they also need advertising.

Eating a bowl of affordable zhajiangmian, having a roasted corn at the night market, and taking photos with passers - by on the street. When netizens post the photos and videos online, it can easily achieve hundreds of millions of exposures, which can save a lot of advertising costs. Moreover, he gets a contrasting persona of "a boss of a 5 - trillion - dollar company with a down - to - earth side". It's a win - win situation, and it's even worth 3.8 million yuan for that bowl of zhajiangmian.

After tech tycoons successfully turn their personal IPs into the company's "soft billboards", their partners are also happy to see this. Upstream manufacturers can produce with confidence, and downstream partner companies can also feel at ease. A likable CEO can connect the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Also, tech companies often "sell the future