Recently, I had noticed that there is a lot of confusion surrounding the cultural merit that BTS had received from the South Korean government and the levels of these honors after Blackpink’s recent accolade of obtaining the 4th-class (Jade Crown) Cultural Merit from the government at the 17th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards. Due to the confusion, I will break down some of the topics that are being discussed surrounding BTS’s cultural merit. Back in October of 2018, BTS were honored with a 5th-class Cultural Merit from the South Korean government due to enormous success and contributions to the K-pop/Hallyu Wave worldwide which had made them the first K-pop group to receive this honor. This was pretty historic for the group as they had this merit into just five years as a group as the criteria for these types of honors usually has a general guideline of contribution in the past 15-years for a act in the cultural/artistic field. Also, timing does play a part in the different honors that BTS (2018/5-years), G-dragon (2025/16-years), and Blackpink (2026/10-years), were able to achieve through their contributions and different levels of success.
Make no mistake about it, all three acts deserve their honors for their contributions towards the South Korean Entertainment industry and elevating Korean culture outside of Korea. For BTS (2018), their merit was again due to their enormous achievements worldwide and elevating K-pop to new heights. Them achieving this merit had even become a criterion for male idols to meet in raising their military enlistment age from 28 to 30. G-dragon’s impact as a solo artist speaks for itself as he was given the nickname “King of K-pop” for a reason. Blackpink accolades as a group and as solo artists had played a huge part in acquiring the merit from the Korean government as well as becoming one of the pushing factors for K-pop’s global success. Also, BTS can elevate their merit once they reach the ten-year mark as the elevation of their merit can possibly coincide with their 15th anniversary in 2028.
submitted by /u/Professional_Set2863
[link] [comments]
