The best K-pop documentaries to watch after Blackpink’s ‘Light Up the Sky’

Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa have shattered records and toured the world, and now they have a documentary detailing their spectacular rise to the top. With a careful hand, director Caroline Suh has plumbed the intricacies of Blackpink, as a collective and as four individual women, to bring to Netflix’s Blackpink: Light Up the Sky. 

The documentary manages with admirable ease the substantial task of capturing Blackpink both as distinguished global celebrities and as girls struggling with the immense pressures of the industry. Whether credit is due to Suh’s filmmaking chops or her personal relationship with her subjects, the result is an energised, alchemical romp through the highs and lows of K-pop fandom, friendship, and fame.

It’s understandable that viewers might come away from the experience of watching Light Up the Sky craving more K-pop behind-the-scenes drama and excitement. Luckily, from BTS to Twice, camera crews have been rolling for years on Korea’s favourite girl groups and boy bands. Out of hours and hours of footage, audiences might get a bombastic concert film with rehearsal and interview snippets, an intimate docuseries chronicling a frenetic global tour, or a sprawling Bildungsroman pursuing a group as they hustle to break into the mainstream.

No matter the final product, and whether it’s released on a streaming giant or on the associated K-pop act’s personal YouTube page, though, it’s always compelling. Especially when following the figures behind the music as they navigate success and loss in real time is just as often heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, tuning into a K-pop documentary film or series this week might just be the way to draw October to a riveting close.