블랙핑크 BLɅϽKPIИK (BLACKPINK) BI-Ping-Bong Lightstick, Version 2, 2020

Consisting of members Jisoo (b. 1995), Jennie (b. 1996), Rosé (b. 1997), and Lisa (b. 1997), the all-women K-Pop (Korean pop music) band was formed by YG Entertainment in 2016. They were not only the first female K-Pop group to perform at a U.S. festival, the Coachella Vallery Music and Arts Festival in 2019, but the first Korean group to headline the same festival (2023). K-Pop is now a distinctive mainstream genre with celebrity status idols, addictive musical hooks, and precise choreography. BLACKPINK is part of the South Korean wave of artists, musicians, films, fashion, and more that have become a driving force of global pop culture.  

Every generation of K-Pop fans also has unique methods to show their support at live concerts. Starting with colored balloons and raincoats for groups like Seo Taiji and Boys and H.O.T. in the 1990s, followed by glowsticks, and now the high-tech, lightsticks we see today. Fans use the exclusive lightsticks to distinguish their fandom and to participate in live concerts where the arena audience is known as "the ocean." 

Lightsticks, often designed by the artists themselves, like this example, not only define the groups' identity but also enable fans and performers to communicate. They offer color coordination, special effects, and can spell out the group's name in the arena, via Bluetooth technology driven by the stadium technicians, or completely fan organized. On the flip side, fans can express dissatisfaction by creating a "black ocean" when they refuse to turn on their lightsticks.