Great honor: King Charles III. The K-pop band Blackpink has been declared members of the Order of the British Empire.
At first glance they don’t have much in common: But King Charles III. (75) and the South Korean girl band Blackpink are united by their commitment to climate protection. And that’s exactly why the British monarch awarded the stars of the K-pop scene a medal on Wednesday.
Honored for their efforts as climate conference ambassadors
In the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (62), who is currently on a state visit to Great Britain, Charles presented the “Member of the Order of the British Empire” award to the four musicians Jennie Kim (27) and Jisoo Kim at Buckingham Palace in London (28), Lisa Manobal (26) and Rosé Park (26). The band received the Honorary Knighthood in recognition of their work as ambassadors to the UN Climate Change Conference, which took place in Glasgow in 2021. At the time, Blackpink called on young people to take action on climate protection and to take an interest in the global UN climate summit, the palace said.
At the ceremony it was clear how well the king and the South Korean singers get along. “It’s amazing that after all these years you still talk to each other,” Charles said to the band. “I hope I can see you live sometime.” On Instagram from the event and credit Blackpink as “special guests.”
Charles had already honored South Korean pop culture during a state banquet for President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday evening. In his speech, he admitted that he has some catching up to do when it comes to Korean-language pop music. He jokingly noted that unfortunately he did not learn the Gangnam style made famous by rapper Psy (45) in 2012 during a visit to Seoul.
Blackpink has been around since 2016. Since then, the band has developed into one of the most successful girl groups in the world. In July, they made history in the UK by becoming the first K-pop group to headline a major British music festival: they sang in front of 65,000 people at the BST Hyde Park summer festival in central London.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
