August 8 (Korean time) marks a special milestone when Blackpink officially celebrates its 10th anniversary of debut.
This was originally an opportunity that fans were looking forward to, but the event quickly caused controversy on Korean online communities due to the scale of the organization and the gift for fans.
On the anniversary, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa appeared at the National Museum of Korea to meet 40 fans at an event held intimately. Here, each fan received some gifts, including a small bouquet of flowers and a package of rice cake (tteok).
However, after the event, netizens discovered that the rice cake used as a gift was priced at about 6,900 won, equivalent to 128,000 VND. This information immediately became a topic of controversy, especially when Blackpink was known for its image associated with many luxury brands.
A part of netizens believe that a gift of low value does not mean that members lack respect for fans. According to them, what is more precious is that Blackpink directly spent time meeting fans on their 10th anniversary.
Conversely, many fans criticized and expressed disappointment because they believe that an important milestone like 10 years of debut deserves a more special event.
Some people even questioned how the organizers prepared the program, saying that the scale of only 40 people and the quite simple gift did not meet the expectations of fans.
On forums, many harsh comments appeared:
And this is how Blackpink ends everything...".
While they are all ambassadors of luxury brands, giving each fan another small gift would probably be better.
Jisoo even wrote a letter and couldn't hold back tears in front of fans. That moment was truly touching.
Besides arguing about the gift, some netizens also said that the entire responsibility should not be attributed to the 4 members, because the planning stage, gift selection and event organization are also related to the management team.
For Blackpink, 10 years is a memorable journey, and fans probably don't need too expensive gifts, but just a sufficiently special way of celebrating to feel respect.
