The National Museum of Korea, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has apologized after general visitors were restricted from newly entering a special exhibition hall for one hour during BLACKPINK’s 10th-anniversary fan meeting.
Regarding the approval of BLACKPINK’s event, use of the museum facilities and restrictions on visitors, the museum said on August 28 in response to a request for an audit by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, “Although we made efforts to ensure the safety of this event and minimize inconvenience to visitors, we sincerely apologize for the shortcomings.”
The museum added, “If we proceed with similar collaborative events in the future, we will more carefully review their impact on general visitors and pay greater attention to advance notice and operational management.”
The controversy arose on August 8, when BLACKPINK held a Meet & Greet at the museum to celebrate their 10th debut anniversary. Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa met with 40 fans in the lobby of Special Exhibition Hall 1, where the special exhibition Amazing Thailand: Masterpieces of Thai Art was being held.
On the day of the event, access to part of the exhibition area was restricted, resulting in changes to the workshop schedule. Some members of the public subsequently took to online communities to express their frustration over the inconvenience.
According to the museum, YG Entertainment requested the fan meeting on July 29, and National Museum of Korea Director-General Yoo Hong-jun approved the event on August 3. The venue was finalized as the special exhibition lobby on August 5, while the decision to restrict visitor access was made the day before the event.
The museum clarified in its response that the event was not an external rental of the facility. Instead, it was part of the “National Museum of Korea X BLACKPINK Global Collaboration” project that had been underway since February. The museum described it as a marketing and collaboration event intended to promote both the Amazing Thailand: Masterpieces of Thai Art exhibition and the museum itself to audiences in Korea and abroad, rather than an externally rented event.
The BLACKPINK 10th-anniversary event had already faced controversy before it took place. The announcement came just two days before the group’s actual debut anniversary, while attendance was limited to only 40 fans, prompting complaints from some members of the fandom. As a result, all four BLACKPINK members even apologized to fans over the short notice and the small-scale nature of the event.
Sources: Daum