Blackpink show organizers apologize for the 'cow tongue line' image on the website

IME - the organizer of the Blackpink show in Hanoi - said it did not post the image of the map with the "cow tongue line" on its website in the Vietnamese market, and apologized to the audience for the incident.

On July 6, Mr. Brian Chow, CEO of IME Music Company Limited, said: "We are aware of the need to respect the sovereignty and culture of all countries where IME is present. IME has quickly reviewed and committed to replacing images that are inappropriate for the Vietnamese people. Once again, we would like to express our most sincere apologies for this unfortunate misunderstanding."

On July 4, when the organizers announced the ticket prices for the Born Pink concert, many viewers discovered that the homepage of the website posted a map with an image of the illegal "cow tongue line" . Many people took pictures, calling for protests against the company and boycotting the show. IME then hid the image so users in Vietnam could not access the website.

The "cow tongue line", or nine-dash line , drawn by China, illegally claims sovereignty over almost the entire area of ​​the East Sea, despite opposition from the international community.

The representative of this unit explained that the protested image was taken from the common website of the regional offices in Asia, not the Vietnamese company website. The company has not registered a domain name in Vietnam, only operating on some platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Mr. Le Thanh Liem - Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism - said that he requested the Department of Performing Arts and related units to verify the suspicion that the company organizing the BlackPink music night supported the "cow tongue line".

Immediately after that, IME worked directly and sent an explanation letter to the Vietnamese authorities. The company representative said: "IME's goal in Vietnam is to bring fans top-notch programs and artists. We look forward to the reception and support of local authorities and people."

IME Entertainment is a performing arts and events company headquartered in Beijing, China. It has more than 10 branches in Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, South Korea and Australia, organizing many concerts of K-Pop artists as well as international artists.

The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports has granted permission to hold a Blackpink concert at My Dinh Stadium on July 29 and 30. The show has the highest ticket price of nearly 10 million VND.

From left: Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé of Blackpink. Photo: YG

The two concerts are part of the Born Pink tour, which started late last year, and have so far grossed about $163.8 million, with more than 900,000 tickets sold. On average, the group earns more than $4 million per concert with about 22,600 spectators. The figures do not include the 24 concerts that have not been counted. The achievement helps Blackpink become the girl group with the highest-grossing tour, surpassing the records of Spice Girls ($78.2 million), TCL ($72.8 million), and Destiny's Child ($70.8 million).

Blackpink debuted in 2016, consisting of four members Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, Rose. After seven years of operation, although only releasing two albums, the girl group has stirred up the music industry with many hits such as Ddu-Du Ddu-Du, Kill This Love , Pink Venom. They have the highest viewed YouTube channel with 30.099 billion views. In addition to music, the four girls of the group are also influential people in the fashion industry.

VnExpress.net