Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno reacts to Stray Kids member Hyunjin's comment acknowledging her use of the K-pop group's songs for her Olympic floor routine, Tuesday. Captured from Moreno's X

The ever-increasing presence of Korean culture is palpable at the 2024 Paris Olympics, both inside and outside the event venues.

On July 28, Mexican artistic gymnast Alexa Moreno dazzled the crowd with her floor routine set to a medley of hits by K-pop sensation Stray Kids, including "S-Class," "Maniac" and "LALALALA." Sporting vibrant blue hair, Moreno executed a series of dynamic flips and rolls to the music of the K-pop octet. Although she did not advance through the qualifications, her performance captured the hearts of K-pop fans worldwide and quickly went viral.

Moreno's performance even caught the attention of Stray Kids, with member Hyunjin acknowledging her use of their music for her Olympic routine. He wrote on FANS, a fan community platform for JYP artists, "I'm so honored. She was so beautiful." Moreno shared this message on her X account with screaming face emojis, expressing her surprise and excitement.

The Mexican gymnast has long expressed her love for K-pop, particularly Stray Kids. She had posts about attending their concerts, training to their songs and even wrote, "The only thing missing is a greeting from @Stray_Kids," after winning a gold medal in the vault at the 2023 Paris World Challenge Cup.

Italian gymnast Elisa Iorio's back tattoo shows the logo from BTS' "Love Yourself" album and the Korean lettering for "Love Yourself." Captured from X

Italian gymnast Elisa Iorio, a member of Italy's silver-winning women's artistic gymnastics team, also captured the attention of K-pop enthusiasts with a glimpse of her back tattoo featuring the logo from BTS' "Love Yourself" album and the Korean lettering for "Love Yourself."

Her social media profiles further showcase her love for K-pop, as she includes the phrase in Korean accompanied by a purple heart emoji, a symbol of the K-pop icon and its fanbase, ARMY.

Jin of BTS also participated in the global mega-sports event by carrying the Olympic torch in front of the Louvre Museum on July 14 during the torch relay.

Models showcase hanbok, or traditional Korean attire, during a fashion show at the garden of Korea House located at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Korea House initiative

Meanwhile, Korea House, operated by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), is drawing record crowds, reflecting the growing popularity of Korean culture. Thursday was designated as Korea Day, inviting key members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and senior officials from national Olympic committees and international federations to experience Korean culture and enhance sports diplomacy.

Guests explored Korea House, located at the Maison de la Chimie in central Paris, which featured a variety of food tastings and cultural experiences, and watched a hanbok (traditional Korean dress) fashion show.

The fashion show, themed "A Little Girl's Outing on a Midsummer's Day," imagined a young girl from the 1900 Paris Exposition visiting Korea House at the 2024 Summer Games, celebrating the efforts and victories of the Korean Olympic squad.

Under the artistic direction of stylist Seo Young-hee, seven Korean hanbok designers — Kim Young-jin, Kim In-ja, Kim Ji-won, Kim Hye-soon, Song Hye-mi, Yu Hyun-hwa and Lee Hye-soon — presented their creations.

Participants take a photo of official light sticks for Team Korea, produced by K-pop giant HYBE, during a group cheering event at Korea House for the 2024 Paris Olympics, July 27. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The KSOC has been operating Korea Houses since the 2004 Athens Olympics to support Korean athletes and promote sports diplomacy along with Korean culture. In the past, Korea Houses served mainly as a venue for interviews and a place for athletes to mingle, but it has expanded to include group cheering events and experiences showcasing Korean food and culture.

This iteration of Korea House is the largest ever with 15 private and public organizations participating and has been busy with 16,019 visitors in the first five days since opening on July 26.