A now-deleted video showing K-pop megastar Jennie of Blackpink apparently smoking a vape indoors has sparked online outcry, with the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday saying it had received a formal complaint.
In the footage, uploaded as part of a live blog on YouTube for fans, but subsequently removed even as copies of it spread across the Internet, Jennie appears to exhale vape smoke while a bevy of hair and make-up artists work closely on her face.
Smoking cigarettes or vapes indoors is illegal in South Korea and the footage triggered headlines and online outrage, with “indoor smoking” and “Blackpink Jennie” becoming top trending topics on X in the nation.
Photo: AFP
“Controversy over Jennie’s indoor smoking ... exhaling smoke in the face of her staff,” was the headline of the Yonhap news agency’s report on the incident, typical of the widespread reporting in Korean-language media.
One Internet user claimed the incident likely happened in Italy’s Capri, where Jennie had been filming, and said they had requested that the South Korean embassy in Italy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs probe the Blackpink star, the Korea Times reported.
The user urged Seoul to request “an investigation from the Italian authorities regarding Blackpink’s Jennie’s indoor smoking incident and take strict action,” the report said.
The foreign ministry said it had received a petition related to the incident.
Blackpink is one of South Korea’s most successful K-pop girl groups, with their songs topping charts locally and internationally.
“Posting such a video on her own SNS channel raises serious questions about her common sense... It is deeply disappointing,” one commentator on South Korean portal Naver said.
Smoking rates are relatively high in South Korea, but according to official data, as of 2022, only 5 percent of South Korean women smoke, compared with 30 percent of men.
South Korean pop stars undergo rigorous training for years before their debut and are held to high behavioral standards, with smoking, dating and swearing largely forbidden, especially in the first years following their debut.
Jennie has previously confessed to struggling with these expectations.
“It’s really harsh,” Jennie, who debuted with Blackpink in 2016, said in a Netflix documentary.
“We were not allowed to drink, smoke or get a tattoo,” she recalled of her training period, adding that she had to endure “being told that I’m not good at stuff.”
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
TICKING CLOCK: A path to a budget agreement was still possible, the president’s office said, as a debate on reversing an increase of the pension age carries on French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday was racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline after the resignation of outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis. The presidency late on Wednesday said that Macron would name a new prime minister within 48 hours, indicating that the appointment would come by this evening at the latest. Lecornu told French television in an interview that he expected a new prime minister to be named — rather than early legislative elections or Macron’s resignation — to resolve the crisis. The developments were the latest twists in three tumultuous
IN THE AIR: With no compromise on the budget in sight, more air traffic controllers are calling in sick, which has led to an estimated 13,000 flight delays, the FAA said Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff. Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay. With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs. Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers
RSS