BLACKPINK meets fans for 10th anniversary as backlash builds

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK celebrated its 10th debut anniversary on Saturday with a meet-and-greet for 40 fans at Seoul's National Museum of Korea. The milestone anniversary coincided with a week of backlash from the group's fandom accusing the agency of mishandling the special occasion. All four members - Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé - attended the event, marking their first appearance before fans in Korea since their Goyang concerts in July of the previous year.

Jisoo addressed the criticism during a Weverse live broadcast ahead of the meet-and-greet, stating that the group originally wanted a larger turnout. "It was an important day for us," she said. Rosé echoed the sentiment, noting that the decade had passed quickly and not feeling like 10 years had gone by. She then presented a cake with a '10' candle, handing each member a bouquet. Jennie playfully referred to Rosé as "the romanticist of our team."

Lisa admitted to being too nervous to eat during the broadcast and had instead listened to BLACKPINK songs while getting ready. The road to the anniversary event was not without challenges for the group.