8 August 2026 marked 10 years since the debut of iconic K-pop group BLACKPINK.

To mark the occasion, BLACKPINK held a fan meeting at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, attended by 40 fans.

Following the event, members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and LISA went live on the fan platform Weverse. They once again apologised to fans for their disappointment over the anniversary celebration.

BLINK had recently voiced frustration over the lack of any events to mark the group's 10th debut anniversary.

In response, YG Entertainment issued a statement on 6 August announcing that BLACKPINK would hold a fan meeting on the afternoon of 8 August at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. The event was to feature only those members whose schedules permitted attendance.

Jisoo said during the broadcast: «We really wanted to see many of you, and we knew this was an important day for our 10th anniversary. It seems there were communication issues with our agency. We are sorry. We wanted today to be joyful, happy and fun, but I want to apologise to those BLINK who feel a little disappointed and to tell them we love them. We hope you understand how we feel.»

The other members also joined in making heart signs and offered their apologies to fans.

To mark the anniversary, the members also posted handwritten letters to fans on Weverse, thanking BLINK for their support.

Fan reaction was mixed. The first point of contention was the event's organisation. YG Entertainment announced the event just two days before the 10th anniversary of one of the agency's flagship groups. Attendance at the fan meeting was limited to forty people.

The duration of the event also drew comment. The live broadcast lasted only about 10 minutes, and the fan meeting itself less than 30 minutes.

As a result, online communities and social media were flooded with comments such as:
«That was too short for a 10th anniversary event»
«Wasn't the preparation rushed?»
«It felt like the event was thrown together at the last minute.»

BLACKPINK presented fans with bouquets and small sets of rice cakes. Some fans felt this was somewhat modest for a 10th anniversary.

Since their debut in 2016, BLACKPINK have established themselves as a global K-pop icon. Over the past decade, the group has set numerous records and achieved many firsts in K-pop history. The path BLACKPINK have travelled has never been easy, but they have broken stereotypes about girl groups.

BLACKPINK became the first Asian act to simultaneously top the US Billboard 200 and the UK Official Albums Chart with their second full-length album «BORN PINK», released in 2022.

A total of 11 songs have entered the Billboard Hot 100 main singles chart, including «Kill This Love», «How You Like That» and «Jump».

Their third mini-album «DEADLINE», released in February 2026, set a sales record, moving 1.77 million copies in its first week.

BLACKPINK were the first artists in the world to surpass 100 million subscribers on YouTube. The group also has 17.6 billion cumulative streams on Spotify.

BLACKPINK were the first K-pop group to perform at Wembley Stadium in the UK.

In 2023, BLACKPINK became the first Asian artists to headline Coachella.

Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and LISA have also been active outside the group.

Jisoo balances a career as both singer and actress. She received the Madame Figaro Rising Star Award at the Canneseries international drama festival in 2026. Her work was recognised for roles in the Netflix drama «Boyfriend on Demand», as well as in «Snowdrop» and «Newtopia».

Jennie earned acclaim for the high quality of her first full-length solo album «Ruby», released in March last year. She recently performed at the major US music festival Lollapalooza Chicago.

Rosé made a splash with her song «APT.», recorded in collaboration with pop star Bruno Mars in 2024. With this track, she became the first K-pop female artist to win the top prize for Song of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards 2025.

LISA has been actively performing on the global stage. In 2025, she became a solo headliner at Coachella. In 2026, she performed at the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles. In November, she is due to perform in Las Vegas with her show «Viva La Lisa» at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Tickets for the show sold out in a record 10 minutes.

Over the past decade, numerous international media outlets have written about the group.

TIME named BLACKPINK «Artist of the Year» – a first for a girl group worldwide. TIME called them «trend icons leading the modern era and unequivocally the best girl group in the world».

Rolling Stone put them on the cover for the first time in the history of Asian girl groups. The magazine described them as «pop's rising stars with a defiant spirit and unmatched energy».

Forbes positioned BLACKPINK as «record-breakers who overcame global limitations for female K-pop groups and reshaped the main Billboard charts».

Russian media, while paying less attention to Asian cultural trends than their Western counterparts, have also taken note of BLACKPINK.

According to a study by the service Kion Music and the Brand Analytics system, whose results were published in 2026 by TASS and InterMedia, BLACKPINK became the most discussed foreign girl group in Russian-language social media, significantly outpacing TWICE and the Spice Girls. BLACKPINK's audience proved to be the youngest – 50% of authors posting about them were under 24.

In 2025, the outlet Obshchestvennaya Sluzhba Novostey (OSN), citing research from the music service Zvuk, reported that BLACKPINK are the «favourite girl group» among Russian K-pop fans.

The publication Afisha Daily focuses on news that highlights the global status of the group and its members. Their articles often describe BLACKPINK through their participation in world-class events. For example, they covered Bruno Mars' surprise appearance at the group's Los Angeles concert and LISA's appearance at the Met Gala charity ball, calling her a «K-pop superstar».

Muz-TV, as a music channel, views BLACKPINK primarily as a global pop phenomenon and brand. In a 2025 article marking the group's ninth anniversary, they wrote: «Over the years, the group BLACKPINK has transformed from four girls into one of the most recognisable brands on the global music scene.» Other articles describe the group as a «symbol of the new wave of K-pop».

Kommersant calls BLACKPINK «the world's most popular female K-pop group».

The Russian outlet SRSLY.RU wrote in 2022 that TIME had named BLACKPINK «Artist of the Year». The outlet explained the choice by noting that the group is «objectively one of the most popular groups right now» and that their success is «proven by numbers and ratings». It also noted that TIME devoted a cover story to the group, explaining their superstar success by the fact that «each member is an independent solo artist with her own audience».

The news agencies Interfax and RIA Novosti, as a rule, do not provide detailed commentary but do record the group's key statistical and record-breaking achievements. Interfax notes the chronology of releases and mentions the group in the context of music industry round-ups. RIA Novosti publishes news about BLACKPINK's records, calling them «the first representatives of K-pop culture to amass a billion views on YouTube». It was also noted that their single «Kill This Love» became an «absolute record-holder on YouTube for daily views» (over 56 million).

Komsomolskaya Pravda and its regional portals also emphasise the group's records and mass popularity.

However modestly the 10th anniversary of their debut may have been observed, the women of BLACKPINK have without doubt inscribed their names in the history of global music, the culture of their homeland the Republic of Korea, and the spread of the Korean Wave – whose influence shows no signs of waning.

Sources 1, 2, 3