King Charles has presented K-Pop band BLACKPINK with honorary MBEs in the presence of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol during his state visit.
The quartet – Roseanne Park, Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban – received the honour for their work with the COP26 climate change summit held in Glasgow in 2021, Buckingham Palace said.
The pop superstars are also advocates for the UN's sustainable development goals, helping to bring the environmental message to “millions of young people”.
“It's amazing you're still talking to each other after all these years,” King Charles jokingly said to the band at the ceremony held Wedesday morning in the 1844 room in Buckingham Palace.
“I hope I shall be able to see you perform live at some point”.
During Tuesday evening's state banquet in honour of South Korea’s visiting President, King Charles also praised the girl group for their environmental work.
He told the 170 guests in attendance: “I applaud Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose, better known collectively as BLACKPINK, for their role in bringing the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience as ambassadors for the UK’s presidency of Cop26, and later as advocates for the UN sustainable development goals.
“I can only admire how they can prioritise these vital issues, as well as being global superstars.
Before joking: "Sadly, when I was in Seoul all those years ago, I am not sure I developed much of what might be called the Gangnam Style!”
BLACKPINK made history in July, becoming the first K-pop group to headline a major UK music festival and took to the stage at the BST Hyde Park summer festival in central London in front of a crowd of 65,000 for a sold-out concert.
Since their debut in 2016, BLACKPINK has become one of the most successful girl groups in the world, breaking records such as becoming the most subscribed to music artists on YouTube.
