Why was Blackpink's 10th anniversary so hard to pull off?

A fan event announced just two days in advance, uncertainty over which members would attend and coordination across four separate management companies.

The lead-up to Blackpink’s 10th anniversary revealed just how much the group’s operations have changed since its members launched independent careers.

The anniversary itself remained significant: Blackpink reached the milestone while continuing to balance group promotions with solo careers in an industry where relatively few groups remain active beyond their initial contracts.

But the events surrounding the celebration highlighted the challenges behind maintaining one of K-pop’s biggest groups after members have established independent management for their individual activities.

Blackpink debuted on Aug. 8, 2016. Yet YG Entertainment did not announce the group’s “Meet & Greet” fan event through the fandom platform Weverse until Aug. 6. The announcement also stated that members would attend “according to their individual schedules,” fueling concern among fans that not all four would appear. Only 40 paid Weverse membership holders were invited.

The uncertainty coincided with an unrelated incident later that day, when a woman repeatedly struck the glass entrance of YG Entertainment’s headquarters in Seoul with a golf club before being arrested. Although police said they had found no evidence linking the incident to the anniversary controversy, speculation quickly spread online. The following day, YG Entertainment said it had confirmed through each member’s agency that all four members would attend the event.

The episode reflected a structural shift in how Blackpink operates.

After the members’ individual contracts with YG Entertainment expired in December 2023, Jennie founded Odd Atelier, Lisa launched Lloud, Jisoo established Blissoo and Rose signed with The Black Label. While YG continues to manage Blackpink’s group activities, organizing them now requires coordination among four separate management companies.

“Getting sign-off between the members’ individual agencies simply takes too long,” an official at one member’s agency told The Korea Herald.

The coordination challenges have also extended to the group’s music releases.

YG Entertainment previously attributed repeated delays to Blackpink’s third EP, “Deadline,” to “final-stage work to raise its quality.” The album was ultimately released more than half a year later than initially expected, after the group’s world tour of the same name had already concluded.

Throughout that period, the members remained focused on solo activities. Jisoo released her debut solo EP, “Amortage,” in February before embarking on a 10-city Asia tour the following month. Jennie and Lisa each performed as solo artists at Coachella in April, while Rose released the “F1” soundtrack single “Messy” in May and collaborated with Alex Warren on “On My Mind” in June.

Even shortly before “Deadline” was released, another official at one member’s agency indicated that arranging a full-group schedule remained difficult.

“It’s difficult to coordinate schedules because each Blackpink member has activities of their own,” the official said in February. “No group activity as a full unit has been decided yet.”

Music critic Lim Hee-yun said the anniversary reflected a broader shift in Blackpink’s place in the members’ careers.

“As the members’ solo careers have expanded, Blackpink’s group activities have naturally become less central,” Lim said. “Was there really anyone among the members pushing to say, ‘We have the resources — let’s bring everyone together and make this happen?’ From the outside, it can look like something driven by a bigger cause or momentum. But once you look closer, practical and logistical concerns get in the way. It’s quite possible there simply wasn’t enough willingness to overcome those obstacles.”

Lim said those logistical difficulties ultimately reflect a change in priorities.

“Paradoxically, Blackpink might mean less to the members themselves than it does to people watching from outside, or to the fans,” he said. “For the members, Blackpink may feel more like something in the past, while their present and future matter more to them now. That’s a hard thing for outsiders — or for devoted fans — to really understand.”