Music group BLACKPINK.

However, few people know that behind the stage aura and admirable success are hidden corners and pressures that a global idol group must endure.

Exhausted to the point of being hospitalized

Since their debut, after 7 years of operation, the 4 members of BLACKPINK have always been working at full capacity with a tight schedule. Not only do they have diverse activities in Korea, but the members also have to regularly attend events abroad.

Amid a busy schedule with a huge amount of work in a tight time frame, BLACKPINK members don’t have much time to rest. They can only take the time to rest on the plane, and when they get to the airport, they must immediately adapt to the environment, climate, and time zone of each region.

During the Born Pink show in Australia Jennie was forced to leave the stage due to poor health.

High-intensity group activities leading to exhaustion and hospitalization are a common occurrence. During the Born Pink show in Australia, member Jennie was forced to leave the stage due to poor health.

Previously, Jennie revealed that she did not have good resistance and often fell ill: “I was physically and mentally exhausted after a world tour (in 2020). The intensity of work made us exhausted.” I don’t have time to sleep, eat unscientifically and don’t provide enough water for my body.”

The female idol added: “Everywhere I touch I get an allergic reaction. My immune system doesn’t work at all but the group continues to move. I always wonder what I can do to help.” Be healthy in the next 2 busy years.”

Not only Jennie but the other 3 members Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo also often face health problems. “The youngest sister” Lisa exercises to the point of being skinny, Rosé attracts attention when she needs intravenous fluids, Jisoo has a tumor in her neck and a series of injuries affecting all 4 members. The alarming news about the health of all 4 members makes fans worried.

Rosé is alarmingly skinny.

Living in criticism, judgment, death threats

Not only facing serious physical problems, but also the members’ mental health is also in a state of alert. As a global music group , BLACKPINK is always the focus of media and public attention. Therefore, members cannot avoid the pressure of public opinion.

“Eldest sister” Jisoo revealed that having too many eyes watching her forced her to accept the pressure. She was criticized for lacking skills, being weaker than other members, and not being able to communicate in English well. Even Jisoo’s statement “confident in acting” was dissected on many forums.

Jisoo constantly strives to improve herself but is not recognized. Rolling Stone Korea magazine once caused controversy when it commented that Jisoo “does not possess the most outstanding talent in the group as a singer or dancer, but her maturity is more obvious.”

Jisoo

And Jennie also did not forget the moment when she was always commented that she had a arrogant and unpleasant attitude. Faced with negative comments about her, Jennie confided: “When I was a trainee, I often heard people say, ‘Why does Jennie always look so uncomfortable?’. That seriously hurt me.” I’m not angry with anyone, I’m just shy in front of others. Is my facial expression like this when I’m relaxed? But instead of suffering, I decided to accept it and try to change next time.” .

Not only talking about attitude misunderstandings, Jennie also thought a lot about comments about not giving her best performance. Recently, Jennie also received a lot of “criticism” for her role in the movie Idol with bold scenes.

Jennie admitted that her image and name may appear frequently in the newspaper with negative articles. That caused Jennie to constantly hurt herself.

She shared: “I constantly hurt myself, in performances and in life, by comparing myself to other girls. Sometimes, I want to throw my phone into the ocean and disappear. Disappear.” so that no one can find me.” Too pressured and tired from a series of criticisms, Jennie even burst into tears on the performance stage.

As for Lisa, the Thai-born member of the group has suffered considerable mental pressure since before her debut. She is a victim of discrimination against Southeast Asians among a portion of Korean netizens.

Even though she is beautiful, talented and loved by many people, Lisa still has to endure hateful comments because of her Thai origin. Some netizens criticized her for being a “country person” and a “transgender”: “She is so beautiful thanks to Korean makeup technology!”; “If you take off that layer of makeup, her face will only have Southeast Asian features”; “Go back to Thailand, don’t go to Korea to make a name for yourself. No one likes you here”…

Lisa was criticized and threatened with death because she is Southeast Asian.

Lisa was even threatened by an anonymous account on Twitter: “When BLACKPINK comes back, I will kill Lisa,” making the group’s fandom very worried about the safety of foreign members. It was the fans who had to ask for help from the Thai Embassy in Seoul. Afterwards, the Ambassador spoke up to protect Lisa, affirming that they would consider investigating the incident.

Faced with this pressure, Lisa cried and called her mother many times out of frustration. But luckily, the members are always by her side, encouraging and helping the little girl overcome it to become one of the famous female rappers in K-pop today.

Private life is scrutinized and exposed publicly

Becoming celebrities, BLACKPINK members have to trade off their personal privacy. BLACKPINK’s personal love life is often exposed publicly in the media.

Jennie was once “attacked” because of dating rumors with V (BTS).

Jennie is a member who is constantly being “stalked”. Pictures of Jennie’s personal life were published on newspaper pages. Recently, she was spotted holding hands with member V (BTS) in Paris. With these rumors, the management company always left it open and Jennie also kept silent, but the media did not “let go” of her. Jennie became a victim of anti-fans as well as a part of BTS fans.

Not only Jennie, the love rumors between Lisa and the son of the owner of LVMH group caused a lot of controversy in the online community. Private photos of Lisa and young master Frederic Arnault were spread online. Lisa’s management company – YG – only gave a vague answer because they thought it could not be confirmed because it was a private matter. Lisa’s personal schedule was also scrutinized and exposed.

Photos of Lisa’s personal schedule were shared publicly.

Jisoo was also publicly photographed dating actor Ahn Bo Hyun. After confirming the relationship, Jisoo was turned away by a part of fans because of her “taste” in choosing a boyfriend.

While the members were caught up in rumors of dating top stars, Jisoo chose an actor who was said to be less famous and notorious. The actor was under a lot of pressure and was boycotted by fans of the BLACKPINK member. Many people believe that the male actor is not worthy of being an idol of the hottest girl group in K-Pop today.

Caught in rumors of dating Kang Dong Won, Rosé also received opposition because of the large age difference of 16 years. Rosé was even said to be “not on the same level” as Kang Dong Won when he was a famous actor while Rosé was just an idol.

There is no freedom 

Pressure from celebrity life makes BLACKPINK members no longer be themselves. According to Jennie, choosing to be a female idol means losing freedom.

She said: “Starting my career in Korea as a K-Pop artist limited me in many aspects because I wasn’t allowed to express myself just because I was a K-Pop idol. I I think I’m also afraid of expressing myself. 

Jennie affirmed that choosing to be a female idol means losing freedom.

As things developed over time, I was able to express myself more and people saw that as breaking boundaries. People don’t think, she is doing something that she is not allowed to do, opening a new chapter for those in the industry.

Many people have lost their way because they are busy pleasing the trainers. It’s a journey of years, not hours. So you’re really drawn into the life they plan.” 

Lisa also admitted that the life of a female idol is not easy, but she always tries to live “truly”: ” Let everything happen naturally. I always try not to fall into negative thoughts or emotions.” Even when things don’t go well, I still tell myself: “It’s normal for bad things to happen.”

Balancing aspects of the life of a globally famous idol is not easy. Lisa confided that her biggest ambition is to be happy:  “I think more about personal happiness. So I always try to live true to my happiness as long as it does not harm those around me. I I want to live for myself. I don’t know why. Maybe because I’m in a period of uncertainty and crisis in my life.”