Photographed by Songyi Yoon
Rosé knew from a young age she was destined to be a dog mom. It was just a matter of when it would fit into her frenetic schedule, juggling her roles as a member of Blackpink, the face of Saint Laurent, and pursuing solo music projects. However, in 2020, when the pandemic hit, everything changed, and the canine stars aligned. Rosé, along with the rest of the world, got an unforeseen break, and while in quarantine, decided it was finally time to fulfill her dog destiny.
Blackpink had just come back from a record-breaking year of international success. Their single “How You Like That” reached a record-breaking, chart-topping success on Billboard for a female K-Pop group, and soon after, they headlined Coachella. But between those major moments, the singer was spending her time like any other 20-year-old—doom scrolling on Instagram.
“It’s a scary decision to adopt a dog and actually decide to take care of a living, breathing animal,” says Rosé over Zoom, having just woken up after performing for two nights at SoFi Stadium in LA. At first, she visited countless pet stores but never had that a-ha moment when she knew she would be coming home with a new furry friend. Thus began Rosé’s Instagram dog quest. The social media journey started slowly with Rosé scrolling through dog foster parents’ accounts, which then led to actual rescue accounts and organizations. Eventually, she came across an account that posted photos of a seven-month-old mixed terrier puppy, who piqued her interest. “I came across an account with Hank, and I was just so drawn to his story of being a newborn puppy in need of a home. I was curious and I reached out to them,” Rosé tells Vogue nostalgically. “My family and I got to meet Hank and as soon as I saw him, my heart was stolen. The next day we decided to adopt him.”
Eagle-eyed Blinks (the term for devoted Blackpink fans) know that coming up with the perfect name for Hank wasn’t an easy journey. She contemplated the decision 21 times before officially debuting her dog’s Instagram account (@hank_says_hank) on social media. “I have a lot of fans and I really wanted to share that I had a dog with them. But I couldn’t decide on a name,” Rosé admits with a giggle. “So for two weeks after I adopted him, I would be at work, and all I would talk about with my Blackpink members was name ideas. At one point, it was Bluey, and then Benji, but nothing felt right.”
“I’m a huge fan of Tom Hanks. I’ve followed his Instagram for a while, and I realized that at the end of all his posts he would always sign off with -THanks,” explains Rosé. “I woke up one day and I thought it sounded really cool. I went to work and told my members his name was Hank.”
Within 30 minutes of hard-launching Hank on Instagram he had amassed 40,000 followers. Today, the terrier mutt has 4.6 million, putting him at the top of the leaderboard for the most followed celebrity dog. But despite his Instagram fame, Hank is all about that simple life. When the singer is on tour (like she is this summer) or traveling for Fashion Week, you’ll find him at home in Seoul with the rest of the Park family, chewing away on their socks or accompanying them to their local coffee shop. At times, he will take part in the glamorous rockstar life like today, joining Rosé on set in Korea, including her most recent Vogue Korea shoot. For his own cover moment, Hank opted for photographer Songyi Yoon (one of Vogue Korea’s go-to fashion photographers known for capturing Korea’s top stars, including Jennie and Enhypen). Like mother, like son.
Below, Rosé and Hank answer our Dogue questionnaire.
Vogue: What is your dog’s best quality?
Rosé: Loyalty. He is very loyal. He will never leave a family member behind. We’ll be on a walk, and if I am at a coffee shop with my sister and my mom and my dad and I decide to go somewhere else with Hank and leave my sister at the coffee shop, he will insist on taking my sister with us. And so we have to carry him otherwise he won’t leave.
Who would voice your dog in a movie?
It would be Tom Hanks!!!!
Describe the voice you use to talk to your dog?
I talk to him like he’s my son. I talk to him in Korean and English so Hank is actually bilingual, but definitely mostly in Korean. I try to be firm and give him comfort and assurance whilst being gentle to him. So I would say I gentle parent him.
What is your dog’s weirdest nickname, and how did you come up with it?
These days I call him Bbanky like with a double B. It just evolved that way.
Where is one place you wish you could take your dog?
Everywhere and anywhere. I would love to take him on flights and just take him everywhere I could.
Where is the strangest place you’ve taken your dog?
Hank comes to set a lot when I’m in Korea. We bring him and my whole team loves him. He comes to a lot of my magazine shoots and photo shoots. I try to take him everywhere when I can.
If you could tell your dog one thing, what would it be?
Hank? Oh my gosh. If I could tell him one thing, I tell him a lot of things and I just assume he understands. But let’s say he doesn’t understand. Then in that case, I would tell him that I wish I could spend every minute of my day with him.
What is the most human thing your dog does?
The most human thing my dog does is, let’s think: He knows how to ask for things as if he knows how to ask for water. He scrapes his water bowl and he knows how to ask for toys because he scrapes the box with his hand and then he looks at us and he basically demands that we take out a toy.
And he knows how to take care of all four of us as a family. He’s the happiest when we’re all together. I’ve noticed that when I’m by myself, he seems a bit sad. If I have one more family member, he becomes happy, two more—even happier! And when all four of us are together, he’s the happiest dog ever. It’s so adorable.
“I talk to him in Korean and English so Hank is actually bilingual.” — Rosé
What is the most dog thing your dog does?
When we come back home, he always makes us take off our socks. He grabs our socks and he pulls them off our feet. It’s his most prized possession, our socks, and I think it’s because it has our scents or something. He takes the socks and thinks all of our socks are his so he’ll hide them under his blankets. It’s very adorable.
What is your full name? (Including middle names)
Hank Park (no middle name).
Astrological sign?
I was born on May 5, the same day as Children’s Day in Korea. That would make me a Taurus. Tauruses are known to have a good fashion sense, and my mom tells me I look great in everything.
Favorite toy?
My family’s socks.
Favorite meal?
I’m allergic to a lot of things, so my family feeds me a clean diet. I love the beef and chicken snacks that they make for me.
Worst habit?
I’m perfect. I have no bad habits.
Strangest habit?
My family says my strangest habit is that I take all of their socks. Although I don’t think that it is weird!
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
