On August 6, YG Entertainment announced that it will hold a fan meeting event on the occasion of Blackpink's 10th debut anniversary.
Accordingly, 40 people who own the paid Weverse Membership package will be randomly selected to participate in the live event, taking place on August 8 - the day Blackpink debuts - at a location in Seoul (Korea).
However, YG did not confirm which of the 4 members (Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, Lisa) would attend, but only noted that "members who can arrange schedules" would appear.
Notably, the registration time for participation is only 9 hours long, making many people feel that this is an event prepared hastily at the last minute.
The Blackpink fan community has criticized YG with the message: "We need Blackpink, not souvenirs".
In fact, the only activity that YG announced to celebrate Blackpink's 10th anniversary before was a product collection in cooperation with the National Museum of Korea.
However, there are also opinions that the entire responsibility cannot be attributed to YG. According to sources in Korean media, the company has proposed many plans to organize the 10th anniversary celebration for quite a long time, but in the process, the exchange with members did not go smoothly.
Sources said that there are both problems in YG's planning and limitations in coordinating the schedules of members, causing the company to encounter difficulties when wanting to organize a large-scale fan meeting.
According to Dispatch's verification, this 10-year anniversary event was actually prepared quite hastily. Initially, 2 members suddenly expressed their desire to attend, then the remaining 2 members also urgently adjusted their schedule to be able to attend.
However, even after all 4 members confirmed their participation, the plan still encountered many obstacles. Finding a time for all 4 to appear together is not easy at all.
According to the current situation, the event is likely to be held during the day instead of the evening to suit the schedule of the members.
According to Dispatch, the event venue is the National Museum of Korea. However, the specific area inside the museum has not yet been finalized. Up to now, YG and the National Museum of Korea are still continuing to exchange to agree on the final details.
Representatives of the National Museum of Korea told Dispatch: "Every day we welcome nearly 40,000 visitors. Therefore, we are coordinating so that the event does not affect the visitors' tour itinerary.
In the K-pop industry, the 10-year debut milestone is of extremely special significance. Most idol groups cannot exist for more than 7 years, so reaching the 10-year milestone is considered a symbol only top groups can achieve.
A person in the K-pop industry commented: "YG only holds the brand (IP) of Blackpink. In the end, it is the artists who have to act. YG's coordination ability is not enough, while the members prioritize personal activities. As a result, fans have to welcome a disappointing 10th anniversary celebration.
Meanwhile, according to Dispatch, the group operating contract between Blackpink and YG is said to be about to expire. The two sides have not officially entered the renewal negotiation process, and many opinions suggest that the controversy surrounding this 10-year anniversary may become a factor affecting the re-signing process in the future.
On the morning of August 7, there was information that Lisa would be absent from the group's 10th anniversary event. But then, YG quickly issued the latest announcement, stating that all 4 Blackpink members would be present.
The company emphasized that members have prioritized this schedule in advance and completed other tasks so that they can spend time with fans.
