BLACKPINK fans caught in the middle of 'Snowdrop' controversy

BLACKPINK fans have seemingly found themselves in the crossfire the controversy surrounding Snowdrop, a new K-drama starring member Jisoo.

According to a new report by Korea JoongAng Daily, a community of BLACKPINK fans (who are known as BLINKS) on South Korean internet forum DC Inside have been accused of making calls to the Lee Han-yeol Memorial Museum to complain about a statement the museum issued over the controversial K-drama series.

Notably, Snowdrop is a fictional series set in 1987, a pivotal year for South Korea’s pro-democracy movement, and stars BLACKPINK member Jisoo. Meanwhile, Lee Han-yeol was a student activist during the pro-democracy movement, who has been killed during the lobbying and became a symbol of the movement.

In response to the allegations, the fan club published a statement on DC Inside clarifying that they had “nothing to do with the false news that has been circulating in regards to [BLACKPINK fans] leading group action to make complaint calls to the Lee Han-yeol Memorial Museum”, per Korea JoongAng Daily. 

The club also pointed out that the original claim about the BLACKPINK fans were made by an anonymous user and had been “immediately” deleted by the page moderator. They also noted that the post was screen-grabbed and began circulating online, but claimed that the post was “false information”.

“DC Inside is an anonymous community where anyone can post anything without signing up,” a representative of the fan club wrote. “Therefore, this anonymous netizen, who did not even write on the BLACKPINK page should not be determined as a BLACKPINK fan. Please refrain from further criticism regarding this false information.”

Snowdrop, starring BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and Jung Hae-in, has received backlash for allegedly “distorting” the history of South Korea’s pro-democracy movement. As a result of the controversy, a number of sponsors have dropped the show and a petition posted to the Blue House that called for its cancellation has garnered over 200,000 signatures.