K-pop is hard to miss but the C-factor is not too apparent.

K-pop, a popular genre of South Korean music, and the China factor have little in common. But both may have played a role in defining the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Bhutan from Saturday.

“Catch the youths and charm them” seems to be the motto of the Modi visit. “A major focus of this visit are Bhutanese youths,” said a source in India.

Bhutan has immense strategic importance for New Delhi as it shares borders with both India and China. It’s one of India’s most trusted friends in the region but many feel the time has come to retell the India story to its new generation.

“Unlike our generations, for whom India was the sole option, today’s youths go to South Korea, Thailand, Japan, the European countries or North America…. The telecom revolution and Bhutan’s economic prosperity have changed a lot of things. So, the youths need to be told the India story so that the friendship continues,” said a senior government functionary in Thimphu who had done his higher studies and professional training in India.

The sights and sounds at the 100-odd karaoke or discos in Thimphu suggest the once-overarching Indian influence is on the wane among the youth.

“We grew up on Bollywood movies and songs. Today, it’s mostly about K-pop,” said Ugyen Penjor, managing editor, Kuensel, the oldest newspaper in Bhutan.

While there can be a debate on the possible impact a change in musical tastes can have on a diplomatic relationship, there is little doubt that India will always be happy with broader cultural ties

with the next generation of Bhutan.

The other reason, which most Bhutanese officials refuse to talk about, is the China factor.

Although Thimphu has always addressed India’s concerns and rebuffed China’s overtures for diplomatic and economic ties, there are young voices in Bhutan that want it to engage with China as well.

Modi’s second official visit to Bhutan — during which he will have an audience with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and a meeting with Prime Minister Lotay Tshering — will be much more than a standard “bilateral”, the source said. The Indian Prime Minister’s “to-do” list suggests he will be wooing the Bhutanese youth.

From interacting with students at the Royal University of Bhutan and linking the institution with the National Institutes of Technology in Kanpur, Delhi, Calcutta and Mumbai to merging India’s national knowledge network with Bhutan’s research and education network and inaugurating Isro’s ground station in the Himalayan state, Modi’s engagements will revolve round connecting with the youth.

Against this backdrop, Modi’s visit, the focus of his engagements and the areas of cooperation the two countries would announce over the next two days assume importance.

Modi’s trip has aroused interest, especially among the youth, in Thimphu. “I’m very excited and want to know what Modiji has to tell us,” said Rizen Chopha, a young electrical engineer.

Ahead of his Mission Youth, Modi has reason to be happy as his counterpart has already given him a head start by projecting him as the go-to man for the youth.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Tshering wrote about Exam Warriors, a book Modi has authored for young minds.

“I flipped through the pages of the book directed at young people, as he de-constructs the idea of exam which many view as ‘life determining’. Woven with personal anecdotes, the content is so simple for a child to comprehend yet so profound and practical. Such is Shri Narendra Modiji,” he wrote, preparing the ground for Modi’s meeting with young minds, scheduled on Sunday morning.

Modi will also be meeting royals and ministers, inaugurating projects and signing MoUs.