- Charles awards Blackpink MBEs
- Environmental advocacy recognition
- Blackpink’s historic UK performance
Charles expressed his utmost delight in bestowing the medals upon the preeminent female group in South Korea, further expressing his aspiration to witness them “perform live at some stage.”
The King bestowed honorary MBEs upon the K-pop group Blackpink the day after praising them as environmental pioneers.
At Buckingham Palace, Charles presented medals to South Korean superstars Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim, Lisa Manobal, and Rose Park.
During their state visit to the United Kingdom, they were accompanied by President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee of the country.
The King expressed his “utmost delight” in bestowing the MBEs upon the band and further expressed his aspiration to witness them “perform live at some stage.”
Jennie expressed to the King that it was “the most honourable thing for us” to have received the MBE.
Environmental Advocacy Recognised
Two years ago, at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, the largest female group in South Korea accumulated millions of views on their climate-related videos after being named one of the summit’s advocates.
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One of their appeals features the band members pleading with global leaders to “save our planet” from climate change while speaking in Thai, English, and Chinese.
Charles quipped to the group following the presentation, “The great thing is that you’re still talking to each other after all these years of working together.” He was referring to the band’s recent tour.
Blackpink made history as the inaugural Korean band to perform at a major UK festival, BST Hyde Park, at the height of summer.
Musical Homage to South Korea
During the guard change, one of the band’s most popular compositions, Ddu-Du, Ddu-Du, which has amassed over 2 billion views on YouTube, was performed.
Psy performed Gangnam Style, a viral K-pop track, and Arirang, a Korean folk melody, prior to the investiture.
The musical homage to South Korea occurs one day after the King’s state banquet address in which he praised Blackpink.
He stated, “I commend Blackpink, comprised of Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rose, for their collaboration in promoting environmental sustainability to an international audience during their tenure as ambassadors for the United Kingdom’s COP26 presidency and subsequently as proponents of the United Nations sustainable development goals.”
“I can only admire how, in addition to being international superstars, they are able to prioritise these critical issues.” Unfortunately, during my time in Seoul many years ago, I do not recall acquiring a substantial amount of what could be termed the “Gangnam Style!”
K-pop, an abbreviation for Korean popular music, incorporates international forms and genres, including hip hop, rock, and R&B, in addition to its foundations in traditional Korean music.
