Moment K-pop mania takes over the royal household as the Coldstream Guards band plays Psy’s worldwide hit Gangnam Style on Buckingham Palace forecourt
- The Coldstream Guards band also played BLACKPINK’s Dudu-Du, Ddu-Du
This is the moment K-pop mania took over the royal household today as the Coldstream Guards band played Psy’s hit Gangnam Style on the Buckingham Palace forecourt.
The group also played the song Dudu-Du, Ddu-Du by BLACKPINK, a South Korean girl band who attended last night’s State Banquet at Buckingham Palace last night.
King Charles seemed delighted to meet the ‘K-pop’ group – dubbed ‘the biggest girl band in the world’ – to make them honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs) at Buckingham Palace.
The moment came mid-way during a three-day state visit by the President of the Republic of Korea to the UK, during which he is due to sign a key partnership agreement with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, stepping up links in areas as diverse as trade, the military and technology.
Korean culture has experienced an explosion in popularity with its music, known as K-pop, becoming a global youth phenomenon.
Footage shows the Coldstream Guards performing the upbeat pop hits on the Buckingham Palace forecourts today amid the three-day visit.
The Coldstream Guards band played Psy’s hit Gangnam Style on the Buckingham Palace forecourt
The group also played the song Dudu-Du, Ddu-Du by BLACKPINK , a South Korean girl band who attended last night’s State Banquet at Buckingham Palace
The members of BLACKPINK pose with their Honorary MBEs awarded to them in recognition of the band’s role as COP26 advocates for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021
READ MORE: The King’s Korean Speech: Charles makes references to K-pop culture (and even makes joke about Gangnam Style) at grand Buckingham Palace state banquet for South Korea’s President on official visit
Alongside bands such as BTS, Blackpink are at the vanguard of the genre, smashing records including becoming the most subscribed and viewed music artist on YouTube and having the highest-grossing tour by a female group.
Now they have very British gongs to add to their growing list of accolades, on the recommendation of the Government, with His Majesty holding a special investiture the day after they were among the guests of honour at a state banquet to honour the Korean leader and his wife.
Roseanne Park ( known as Rosé), Jennie Kim, Jisoo Kim and Lalisa Manoban (known as Lisa) were given Honorary MBEs in recognition of the band’s role as advocates for the UK government at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow 2021.
Through this role, the band encouraged millions of young people to engage with the global UN climate change conference, held in Scotland, and the topic of climate action.
The group released a series of videos aimed at encouraging young people to learn more about climate change, which resulted – the government says – in ‘significantly increased engagement’ with the Summit from a young audience.
The band have subsequently been appointed as global Ambassadors for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Arriving at the palace in an array of grey and black outfits, decidedly more demure than their usual provocative look, the girls lined up and were each presented by smiling Charles with their medals in the 1844 Room.
Korean culture has experienced an explosion in popularity with its music, known as K-pop, becoming a global youth phenomenon
Footage shows the Coldstream Guards performing the upbeat pop hits on the Buckingham Palace forecourts amid the state visit
King Charles presents the members BLACKPINK with Honorary MBEs
Queen Camilla, King Charles, President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee ahead of the State Banquet last night
The members of BLACKPINK attend the state banquet at Buckingham Palace last night
They then posed for official photographs including one with The President of the Republic of Korea and the First Lady, who were on hand to witness the moment.
With dual New Zealand citizenship, Rosé’s MBE is classed as ‘substantive’ (as opposed to just Honorary, which goes to foreign nationals) because she is a national of a British realm where the monarch is also head of state.
The meeting came after King Charles referenced the singers in his speech at Tuesday’s state banquet, in which he said he applauded their role in bringing the message of environment sustainability to a wider audience, adding: ‘I can only admire how they can prioritise these vital issues, as well as being global superstars.’
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