Korean netizens react to a major French media outlet's harsh evaluation of BLACKPINK's 'BORN PINK' encore tour

"The choreography was too textbook-like, and due to a lack of communication among the members, they often passed each other by." 

A major French news media outlet, Le Parisien, published mixed reviews of BLACKPINK's Concert at Stade De France.

Le Parisien, one of the biggest daily newspapers in France, offered a rather critical assessment of BLACKPINK's 'BORN PINK' world tour encore concert held at Stade De France on July 15. This evaluation diverged from the positive reactions posted on social media and YouTube by fans who attended the event.

The concert drew a reported audience of over 55,000 attendees, but Le Parisien was not easily swayed, remarking that merely filling Stade De France with spectators did not automatically equate to a fitting performance. They went on to point out that, despite BLACKPINK's role in igniting the global K-pop craze, the conclusion they reached was far from favorable.

On September 2, Le Parisien reported its self-proclaimed assessment of BLACKPINK's encore concert in July as the "worst summer concert" among internationally renowned artists who performed in France. The newspaper emphasized that their judgment was highly subjective.

The publication criticized various aspects of the performance, such as the quality of video footage capturing the BLACKPINK members, which they deemed messy and unstable. Le Parisien also noted, "There were excessive intermissions that disrupted the rhythm."

Furthermore, the article mentioned an incident during the show where one of the members, Jennie, abruptly left the stage for no apparent reason, leaving the remaining three members to call out to specific audience members holding placards, creating a situation that Le Parisien found absurd. They concluded, "It was a show that failed to meet the popularity of these young Koreans."

Previously, Le Parisien had also criticized the Metallica concert held at Stade De France in May, highlighting that despite some fans paying over 300 euros to get close to the stage, the concert ended abruptly without an encore.

However, Le Parisien did recognize one standout performance at Stade De France in July, which was the show by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. The publication praised The Weeknd's stage setup, vocal performance, and all-around presentation, labeling it as "the most perfect and daring performance of the summer."

Korean netizens were also divided in opinions after reading the French media assessment of BLACKPINK's concert. The detractors wrote, "They were dancing carelessly," "It is wrong to just waste time and want the money. They should have made sure the concert wasn't a waste of money," "To be honest, it wasn't good. I was honestly embarrassed. The perfection they had during their debut has dissipated and is nowhere to be found. The performance revealed the lack of cooperation due to rumors of Lisa's departure. And Jisoo's skills were not worth mentioning," and "Factory-produced dancers who dance like dolls with overly rehearsed choreography by extremely thin individuals."

The other netizens defending the girls wrote, "People have been saying it was the best show of their lives. The girls were trending number one on social media. But people are overtly negative after just one negative article...Other media outlets except this one praised the concert," "The arrogant Parisians once looked down on the takeover of American pop culture during the 70s and 80s. Despite French youth embracing the wave of American pop stars, people in France dismissed it as mere fleeting fascination with cheap American pop trends," "French are arrogant, they will praise their own while hating on K-pop," and "I think this French media outlet is just jealous that their country doesn't have a global artist. They should just admit they're jealous."