The National Museum of Korea, operating under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, issued an official apology. Museum staff blocked general visitors from entering a special exhibition hall for one hour during BLACKPINK’s 10th-anniversary fan meeting.
On August 28, the museum responded to an audit request from the Ministry. Regarding event approval, facility usage, and visitor restrictions, officials stated: “Although we made efforts to ensure safety and minimize inconvenience to visitors during this event, we sincerely apologize for our shortcomings.”
The museum added: “If we conduct similar collaborative events in the future, we will review their impact on general visitors more carefully. We will also 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. Members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa met with 40 fans in the lobby of Special Exhibition Hall 1. The lobby hosted the special exhibition Amazing Thailand: Masterpieces of Thai Art.
On event day, staff restricted access to part of the exhibition area, forcing changes to the workshop schedule. Disappointed visitors subsequently expressed their frustration online over the inconvenience.
According to museum records, YG Entertainment requested the fan meeting on July 29. National Museum of Korea Director-General Yoo Hong-jun approved the request on August 3. Management finalized the special exhibition lobby as the venue on August 5. However, officials decided to restrict visitor access just one day before the event.
The museum clarified that YG Entertainment did not simply rent the facility as an external party. Instead, the gathering was part of the “National Museum of Korea X BLACKPINK Global Collaboration” project launched in February. The museum described it as a promotional marketing effort. It aimed to showcase both the Amazing Thailand: Masterpieces of Thai Art exhibition and the museum to global and domestic audiences.
The event had already drawn backlash prior to taking place. The organizers announced the event just two days before the group’s actual debut anniversary. Furthermore, they capped attendance at only 40 fans, triggering complaints from the fandom. Consequently, all four BLACKPINK members publicly apologized to fans for the short notice and small scale of the event.
