On October 12, south Korean girl group BLACKPINK announced that it would no longer accept all gifts from fans from that day, except for handwritten letters.
BLACKPINK
BLACKPINK's agency YG Entertainment official website released a statement on the 12th that whether it is an anniversary (group debut anniversary, individual debut anniversary or birthday), or a radio and television program (music performance, radio program or variety show) or a concert, etc., any gifts prepared by fans for these special occasions will no longer be accepted by the BLACKPINK group.
"Keep in mind that any mailed gift or courier package will be returned or discarded, except for letters from fans." The statement reads.
In addition, BLACKPINK said that fans would appreciate it if they could get these gifts and support to where they needed it more.
Statement Screenshot from YG Entertainment's official website
Founded on August 8, 2016, BLACKPINK is a top korean girl idol group with members including Kim Ji-so (JISOO), Jennie Kim (JENNIE), Park Chae-young (ROSÉ) and LISA. Among them, lisa, a member of the group, participated in the recording of two consecutive seasons of iQiyi's highlight talent show "Youth with You" in 2020 and 2021, and served as a dance instructor in the show.
The fact that BLACKPINK announced that it would no longer accept fan gifts caused online attention, and some netizens praised BLCPINK's move.
"I was really shocked by the list of gifts from their support clubs before."
Some people also said that other idol stars have publicly stated that they will not accept any gifts before.
The observer network found that as early as 2018, the South Korean boy idol group Bulletproof Youth League announced that it would no longer accept any gifts from fans except letters. In addition, Korean idol stars such as EXO boy band member XIUMIN, SHINee member Lee Tae-min, and BIGBANG member Kwon Ji-yong have publicly announced that they will no longer accept fan gifts.
Bulletproof Youth Regiment
However, not accepting gifts does not seem to stop fans from spending money on idols.
According to the Observer Network, although the Bulletproof Youth League announced three years ago that it would no longer accept gifts, the Chinese fan support association of the group member Park Ji-min began to raise funds in April this year to celebrate the idol's birthday. Baidu Park Zhimin Bar raised more than 1 million yuan in 3 minutes, and raised more than 2.3 million yuan in 1 hour. They "custom-built an exclusive plane" for Park Ji-min, and on his birthday, they also advertised in the New York Times and The Times to help their idols.
Last month, BLCKPINK member LISA released his self-titled album, and the Chinese fan support association helped idol solo debut, raising 17 million to help Lisa rush album sales.
The fuselage is spray-painted with Park Ji-min's "customized exclusive aircraft" (Source: Baidu Park Ji-min bar @ Park Ji-min JIMIN_JMC)
In May this year, the Cyberspace Administration of China deployed a series of special actions to "Clear Anding" to clearly regulate the online behavior of celebrities, their behind-the-scenes institutions, and official fan groups. In addition, in accordance with the principle of "who operates and who manages, who benefits and who is responsible", it is necessary to supervise the website platform, especially the website platform where the "rice circle" is more concentrated, and form a special team to strengthen daily research and judgment and dispose of bad information.
On June 15, the Cyberspace Administration of China decided to launch a nationwide two-month "Clear Lang· Rice circle 'chaos rectification' special action. Focus on cracking down on chaotic behavior in the "rice circle", including inducing minors to raise funds for assistance, high consumption, voting and hitting the list, and encouraging "rice circle" fans to compare and show off their wealth, extravagant and hedonistic activities.
On September 5, the @Weibo administrator issued an announcement to ban 21 accounts, including @Zhang Yuanying Chinese First Station, for 30 days, and cleaned up the relevant illegal blog posts, on the grounds that these fan accounts "spread irrational star-chasing content on Weibo and led to serious errors." These 21 accounts are all accounts of Korean entertainment artist fan groups.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.