Blackpink, Barbie and Beijing’s South China Sea claims collide in Vietnam

Name: Blackpink tour organiser in hot water with Vietnam over map of South China Sea
Uploaded: 2023-07-10T08:30:17.000Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: Blackpink tour organiser in hot water with Vietnam over map of South China Sea

Blackpink’s promoter for the K-pop group’s Hanoi concerts has come under fire for using a map on its website showing Beijing’s nine-dash line claim

The online outrage hasn’t translated into a boycott, yet. But the same can’t be said for Warner Bros’ summer blockbuster ‘Barbie’ film

Reading Time:4 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rose of Blackpink pictured at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Michael Tatarski

Published: 4:30pm, 10 Jul 2023

First it was a scribbled map in the Warner Bros’ Barbie film, now Blackpink are facing the ire of Vietnamese nationalists calling for a boycott of the K-pop supergroup’s coming tour dates in Hanoi, as pop culture increasingly takes collateral damage from geopolitics.

Eagle-eyed social media users noticed last week that the website of iMe Entertainment, the Chinese company organising the Blackpink concerts in Vietnam slated for July 29 and 30, featured a map showing Beijing’s controversial “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea.

The line, depicting China’s territorial claims over much of the disputed waterway, has become a lightning rod for anger from other countries – most notably Vietnam and the Philippines – that hotly dispute it.

The issue often provokes outrage, especially among Vietnam’s nationalists – as the Blackpink concert organisers are finding out the hard way.

02:22

Blackpink tour organiser in hot water with Vietnam over map of South China Sea

“Get the f*** out of our country … we don’t need a show that doesn’t respect the sovereignty of the sea and islands. Please get out of Vietnam,” said one person in the comments on Blackpink’s official Facebook announcement of their Hanoi visit.

“Stop spreading the illegal map,” said another, while a third user commented: “I also heard that [the organising] company is Chinese and is supporting Vietnamese enemies … I intended to save money to go to the concert but now I’m not going any more.”

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x