BLACKPINK‘s Jennie has gushed over the ‘huge honour’ of being involved in the state visit by the Korean president to the UK this week, that saw her receive an Honorary MBE. .
The K-pop band received the honour from King Charles III on Wednesday for their work in raising awareness about climate change and Jennie Kim showed off the medal on her Instagram on Thursday.
The royal invested Jennie, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (Lisa) as Honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 Advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021.
While bandmate Roseanne (Rosé) Park also received an MBE, though hers came without the ‘honorary’ qualifier because she has dual citizenship in New Zealand, one of the 14 countries, where the UK monarch is head of state.
Sharing a slew of snaps from the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Jennie posed with her MBE for her 82 million followers.
BLACKPINK ‘s Jennie shows off her Honorary MBE on Instagram revealing it was a ‘huge honor’ to receive it
The beauty looked chic in a black tweed dress which featured diamond buttons and pearls.
She paired the stunning ensemble with a cropped blazer and she added height to her frame in black heels.
She captioned the snaps: ‘A huge honor to receive the Honorary MBEs and attend the South Korea-UK State Banquet at the Buckingham Palace.’
Noting the band’s commitment to promoting climate conservation, King Charles said: ‘It is especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embrace the cause.
‘I applaud Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, better known collectively as BLACKPINK, for their role in bringing the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience as Ambassadors for the U.K.’s Presidency of COP 26, and later as advocates for the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.’
As each band member was named, they exchanged looks and stifled smiles in a bashful show of excitement.
Blackpink were first appointed by the UK Government as COP26 Advocates in January 2021. Non-UK citizens can be considered for an honour for their work within the UK.
The group released a series of videos aimed at encouraging young people to learn more about climate change, which resulted – the government says – in ‘significantly increased engagement’ with the Summit from a young audience.
The K-pop band received the honour from King Charles III on Wednesday for their work in raising awareness about climate change and Jennie Kim showed it off on her Instagram on Thursday
Jennie posed for a snap ahead of the state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday
Jennie posed in her stunning white off-the shoulder gown from a lavish car on the way to the palace
She captioned the snaps: ‘A huge honor to receive the Honorary MBEs and attend the South Korea-UK State Banquet at the Buckingham Palace’
The band have subsequently been appointed as global Ambassadors for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Arriving at the palace in an array of grey and black outfits, decidedly more demure than their usual provocative look, the girls lined up and were each presented by smiling Charles with their medals in the 1844 Room.
And it would appear the Royal Family are big fans as Charles appeared delighted to give the girls their honorary MBE’s, in a video shared by the royal family on X.
And yesterday, a social media clip in front of the Palace captured the moment the Coldstream Guards Band played a rendition of DDU-DU DDU-DU – one of Blackpink’s biggest hits.
However, it would seem that while most people on social media were delighted by the news, some expressed their criticism, finding the move ‘ridiculous’.
K-pop royalty met real royalty as King Charles III awarded iconic girl group Blackpink with honourary MBEs
Pictured from left to right: Lisa (Lalisa Manoban), Rose (Roseanne Park), Jisoo Kim and Jennie Kim
The monarch, 75, appeared to be in high spirits as he held an Investiture for the band at Buckingham Palace, in the presence of The President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady, during their official State Visit to the United Kingdom
‘More abuse of the honourary system,’ one wrote. ‘It’s becoming meaningless.’
‘Didn’t know you could buy those titles,’ a second hit out.
However, others said ‘nobody is doing it like them’ as they showered Blackpink in praise.
‘A lovely gesture from the King, and well deserved,’ one comment read.
Another added: ‘They deserve every single recognition they get each year.’
‘Truly an inspiration for all of us!!’ a third remarked.
After receiving their honours, the girls then posed for official photographs including one with The President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady, who were on hand to witness the moment.
Korean culture has experienced an explosion in popularity with its music, known as K-pop, becoming a global youth phenomenon.
Alongside bands such as BTS, Blackpink are at the vanguard of the genre, smashing records including becoming the most subscribed and viewed music artist on YouTube and having the highest-grossing tour by a female group.
