BLACKPINK: Variety Show Princesses

By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
July 4, 2019

Everyone already knows that BLACKPINK are polished performers who slay at their concerts. But the quartet also is quite at home on variety shows. Funny, smart and not afraid of making fun of themselves, Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa are sought-after guests.

Here are some of our favorite appearances.

“Running Man,” Episode #409:

Viewers fell in love with Jennie when she was one of the celebrity guests on “Running Man.” She teamed up with the cast scaredy cat, Lee Kwang-Soo, to maneuver their way through a haunted house together. In the beginning, Jennie was confident that it wouldn’t be super scary and even offered to take the lead through the dark tunnel. But at each creepy turn, she worried more and more whether things would be jumping out at them. She ended up freaking out and crying.

To be honest, I am 100% with Jennie on this. I don’t like haunted houses, because it’s not fun for me to be scared. When they came out of the tunnel, everyone consoled her and told her that she had done well. Haha noted that even though it was tough for her to endure, her reactions would endear her to everyone watching. He was correct. She was invited back for another appearance shortly after this (Episode # 413).

“We Will Channel You,” Episode 5:

The group appeared on “We Will Channel You” and brought along their own self-filmed video that they had shot to premiere on the series. The video was lo-fi and charming, providing a-day-in-the-life-of commentary. The singers gave insight into how close they are and supportive of each other. The host of the series, Kang Ho Dong, appeared dumbfounded when he learned that Jennie woke up at 2 a.m. to prepare for her televised debut solo appearance. And her bandmates left their house at 4 a.m. to make sure they could be there for her in case she was nervous. (If you get impatient, Blackpink make their entrance at the 1-hour 9-minute mark.)

“The Real Men 300”: Episode 5

Many Korean netizens didn’t want Lisa to appear on this reality series … not because they didn’t like her, but because they were worried about her. Filming for this began during a particularly hot summer and Blackpink fans were concerned that Lisa might get hurt or sick. Quite to the contrary, the group’s Thai member showed what she was made of. She fit in with her platoon and made it clear she didn’t expect to be treated differently. I’m not saying that she’s fit for combat, but I do think that many people don’t realize how physically strong idols have to be to endure all the years of training they go through with their choreography.

About 20 minutes into this episode, Lisa reads a letter Jisoo wrote to her. Jisoo sent her words of encouragement, told Lisa how much she missed her and, in true older sister fashion, reminded the group’s maknae to eat well. Lisa said that she started crying before she even read the letter, because Jisoo had included a photo of the two of them during a trip to Jeju.

Honorable Mention:

Check out Episode 330 of “Running Man” where Jisoo and Rose hysterically battle wits against each other. Rose goes for the juggular when she asks Jisoo what three celebrities she’d want to date. Who do you think she selected? I’m not going to spoil the fun for you, but you can watch the episode to find out. I will say that she answered quickly and without a second of hesitation.

This article originally was published on KOCOWA’s blog on July 4, 2019.

KOCOWA re-ran it on October 14, 2020.

KOCOWA added a new intro at the top of their blog and re-ran my column on February 23, 2021.

My original 2019 piece is what’s posted here on jaehakim.com.