BLACKPINK's Impending Breakup and the Impact of a Single K-pop Group on the Stock Market
Lisa is a Korean cultural ambassador to Thailand and ASEAN as well as a global entertainment industry powerhouse.
Reportedly, K-pop contributes approximately 3% to Korea’s gross domestic profit. So the news that the second-most valuable K-pop group, BLACKPINK, is on the verge of breaking up is economic and social news as much as entertainment news.
YG Entertainment’s stock tumbled by 9% when the news broke on Friday that Lisa had rejected a $40 million contract offer. YG’s stock price gained over the weekend, but it’s still below its Thursday high.
BLACKPINK debuted in 2016, and Lisa, who was born in Thailand, became its most popular member. The group doesn’t have an official leader, but Lisa is charismatic, fluent in English (as are Jennie and Rose), and, crucially, provides the group a touchpoint to the huge Southeast Asian market. Everywhere you go in Thailand, a country of 71 million people, you can see Lisa’s face on advertisements, and you see BLACKPINK-themed drinks at Starbucks and other restaurants.
Lisa was the third member of BLACKPINK to release solo work, but her solo songs quickly became the most popular. “Lalisa”’s YouTube video broke the record for most 24-hour views by a solo artist.
Whether BLACKPINK stays together and changes labels or reforms without Lisa or breaks up entirely, it will have an impact on the economic and cultural landscape. But K-pop trends change, new groups come along, and veterans evolve their images. Years from now, Starbucks drinks might be named after Ive or (G)I-dle.