BLACKPINK and YG Entertainment's (YG) renewed contract has become a topic of interest as their exclusive agreement is set to expire in August.

BLACKPINK, which debuted in 2016, is approaching its 7th anniversary. Following the industry-standard practice of a 7-year contract, the current agreement between BLACKPINK and YG is expected to come to an end in August.

The investment industry has offered positive analysis regarding the possibility of a contract renewal between BLACKPINK and YG.

NH Investment & Securities stated in January, "There is no need to anticipate or respond negatively to the contract renewal in advance. The process of renewing BLACKPINK's contract is expected to proceed smoothly, alleviating concerns." In February, Hana Financial Investment expressed, "

The success of BLACKPINK's contract renewal could have a significant impact on the stock price, including the potential of their sub-unit Baby Monster.

Baby Monster, a multinational girl group consisting of seven members, is poised to make their debut in the latter half of this year.

This will mark YG's first girl group in seven years since BLACKPINK's debut. Hana Financial Investment anticipated, "If BLACKPINK's contract is renewed, the stock price of YG is expected to experience a substantial increase, positioning it as the second-highest growth rate within the entertainment industry, following SM Entertainment."

In May, Yuanta Securities analyzed the sustained growth of BLACKPINK, a major intellectual property (IP) owned by YG.

A researcher from Yuanta Securities stated, "As a girl group in their 7th year since debut, BLACKPINK continues to attract new fandom and exhibit growth. If their contract is renewed, long-term monetization appears feasible."

In June, NH Investment & Securities even raised their target price for YG from 96,000 KRW to 105,000 KRW.

Researchers from NH Investment & Securities suggested that instead of concerns surrounding G-Dragon's exclusive contract expiration, attention should be directed towards the pre-release success of Baby Monster's debut, as well as the potential contract renewal for BLACKPINK.

However, there are speculations that BLACKPINK members may prioritize individual activities, raising concerns about the possibility of a contract renewal.

Jennie achieved significant success in 2018 with her solo album 'SOLO' and recently made her acting debut in HBO's 'The Idol'.

Jisoo received a great response with her solo album 'ME', which sold 159,800 copies within 24 hours of pre-sales, breaking the record for the highest sales within 24 hours by a female solo artist in Korea.

Lisa has been garnering global attention for her exceptional dance skills. In 2020 and 2021, she served as a dance mentor on the girl group formation project 'Youth With You' hosted by the Chinese video platform iQIYI.

Her solo album 'LALISA', released in 2021, also achieved commercial success. Rosé achieved remarkable results with her solo album 'R' released in 2021, recording 280,000 sales on the first day and reaching the top of the debut chart for female solo artists in a short period.

BLACKPINK has also gained recognition in the Guinness World Records as the artist with the most views on a K-pop solo online channel within 24 hours and as the first artist to top the Billboard Global chart both as a group and a solo artist.

There are rumors that YG is making every effort for a reunion with BLACKPINK through the contract renewal.

Recently, reports have emerged suggesting that all BLACKPINK members have expressed their intentions to renew the contract.

During a concert in Singapore in May, Rosé said, "We are aware that you have been waiting for us to return to Singapore. BLACKPINK won't go anywhere."

Therefore, attention is now focused on whether the reunion of BLACKPINK and YG will extend their time together with their fans.

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Actress Gong Hyo Jin recently opened up about how difficult it was to film her drama When the Stars Gossip, which aired on tvN and ended last February.

On April 20, Gong Hyo Jin uploaded a new video on her YouTube channel For Now Gong Hyo Jin, where she talked honestly about the experience.

She shared, “Everything about making this drama felt new.” She continued, “I wondered, ‘Do they really have to film this far in advance?’ Some parts needed two years of post-production. The story was also very difficult, and I thought viewers might have a hard time understanding it.”

Gong Hyo Jin revealed that almost the entire drama took place in space. “To be honest, except for one episode out of 16, everything was set in space,” she said. “Filming the zero-gravity scenes took so much time. Just one episode took over two months to film.”

She added that the filming process was physically hard too. “If I was filming for 15 hours while hanging on wires, half of that time I was literally in the air,” she explained. “My blood wouldn’t circulate properly, and I had to shout, ‘Please let me down!’ It’s crazy that I did this for a whole year.”

Even with all the struggles, Gong Hyo Jin still found meaning in the experience. “Of course the actors worked hard, but I think the staff suffered even more,” she said. “After it all ended, I felt like I really worked hard too.” Then she laughed and added, “I don’t think anyone will dare to make a space drama for a while.”

When the Stars Gossip was a 50 billion won project with a high budget. It told the story of Boss Eve (played by Gong Hyo Jin), who works at a zero-gravity space station, and Gong Ryong, a mysterious man with a secret mission.

However, the drama didn’t do well. Many viewers criticized the confusing plot and poor CGI. The space bed scenes in the early episodes were also mocked and caused many people to stop watching. The last episode, where Eve dies after giving birth, was especially criticized.

Source: [1]