BLACKPINK's Lisa's Legs: They Work

By David Tizzard

David Tizzard

We all run the risk of becoming Quarantine Thicc. What the South Koreans called “hwak-jjina-ja”: Gaining weight as we stay stuck at home, moving less, drinking more, and tweeting away to anyone that will listen.

And yet we surely all dream of having legs like Lisa from BLACKPINK. Even ever portly middle-aged Englishmen like myself.

Much of the internet seemingly agrees, for Lisa’s legs became one of the internet’s hottest memes last week (alongside all the stans making anime versions of Kim Yo-jong with, shall we say, a toast fetish and a more buxom appearance than is commonly seen in the North outside the newly returned Chairman).

Lisa put out a dance video a fortnight ago, dancing to the 2019 track Mushroom Chocolate and filmed by Anthony King. It’s a mesmerizing performance, combining graceful lines and ballet angles with the more provocative dance moves found in K-pop videos.

The latest solo dance video follows on from her performances for Rosalía's “Malamente” and DaniLeigh's “Cravin”.

This month’s take also provides longer cuts than the regular K-pop video, demonstrating the skill level involved and allowing one to see that the movements are not always short bits cleverly edited together. Lisa is a dancer and performer of extraordinary talent.

The line between this and the more worrying fan-cams might be a different conversation, however.

Over 17 million people have already been equally as taken in by the intricate choreography. Yet it was her thigh-high heeled boots that have sparked an internet game.

Twitter cropped Lisa’s legs out and edited them onto a picture of Star Trek’s Spock alongside the caption “Did it Work?”

The short answer is yes. Yes, it did.

Cultural icon and music superstar Dolly Parton then took on the challenge, outdoing the Vulcan with her leather. But she was quickly joined by Stephen Colbert, James Corden, Luke Evans, and – probably most humorously – the fantastically nihilistic Bojack Horseman.

I would love to hear Bojack’s take on K-pop, for what it’s worth.

But it wasn’t enough that the celebrities were doing it themselves (or rather their agents probably thought it was a good idea to get some Insta love), fans and internet people then took things into their own hands.

You can see Spiderman crouching provocatively in the boots, Captain America battling Thanos in Lisa’s hotpants, Jurassic Park’s topless Jeff Goldblum panting in them, Shrek, and even an ultrasound scan baby asking the question, “Did it work?”

Yes, the internet’s a weird place. Sorry.

But it proves the worth of BLACKPINK’s Thai dancing queen Lisa. She remains the most followed K-pop star on all of social media with over 32 million followers on Instagram.

Not bad for someone competing against an Army.

Her band’s video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" was also the first K-pop act hit over a billion views on the YouTube platform and was the first time a Korean girl group had been given a gold record by the Recording Industry Association of America.

It is a straight-up banger as well which definitely helps.

BLACKPINK are planning a return to the music scene with new tracks and this will be welcomed by their management YG Entertainment as a way of trying to overcome the many scandals and controversies that have afflicted their performers of late.

Lisa and her legs are now back in the studio trying to break more records. She was filmed there on Friday with her group members and producer, songwriter and rapper G-Dragon.

Personally, it feels like the industry could do with a little more of G-Dragon to challenge the saccharine and bland maudlin nonsense that seems to have saturated the market of late, particularly among the male groups.

Yes you can win more fans (and thus money) by being as non-offensive to as many people as possible but G-Dragon, for all else that might be said about him, never cared about such things standing in the way of his artistic expression. And more power to him.

They are also becoming more international through collaborations with western artists. A 2018 effort with Dua Lipa for the track “Kiss and Make Up” still remains popular, and now they have teamed up with the poker-faced Lady Gaga.

Having shared the track-listing for her album on social media, the K-pop quartet appear alongside Elton John and Ariana Grande. Illustrious company, to say the least.

What does the future hold for Lisa, Jennie, Rose, and Jisoo? Who knows.

But if there’s more Coachella, more music, more collaborations, and more memes, it’s bound to be exciting for all the Blinks and beyond.

David Tizzard (datizzard@swu.ac.kr) is an assistant professor at Seoul Women's University and lectures in politics and history and Hanyang University. He presents economic and cultural issues on "Business Now" on TBS eFM (101.3FM) live every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.