aespa Karina’s dating apology labelled 'national embarrassment' amid negative western coverage
Karina's dating apology triggers negative reactions from fans and media outlets
It's disheartening to see a beautiful love story turn into a dating scandal. aespa's Karina and actor Lee Jae Wook, whose romantic involvement was exposed by a South Korean media outlet, garnered widespread attention. However, it seems the attention became overwhelming. Initially, their dating news broke out following a sweet confirmation from Lee Jae Wook’s agency. But days later, Karina herself penned a note to her upset fandom, which sounded more like an apology for her dating. Was it too much? Western media certainly thought so.
aespa Karina becomes a hot topic for her apology over dating news
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Headlines such as "K-pop star apologizes after relationship goes public," "aespa member ashamed of dating news," and "Pop star apologizes to fans after relationship reveal sparks backlash" dominated the tabloids soon after the aespa member posted a note for a section of her fandom, MYs. These fans had sent a protest truck to SM Entertainment, expressing their anger. They alleged that Karina had harmed the group's image through her dating news.
K-netizens call aespa Karina a ‘national embarrassment
The apology letter drew significant negative attention from Western media, sparking a firestorm of online discussion. However, things escalated when Korean netizens, who are already highly critical of K-pop dating controversies, discovered a BBC article covering the apology scandal. The outlet published a piece about her apologies on March 6th, in which they spoke about the stigma associated with dating among the K-Pop fandom.
"The Korean fans, LOL. It’s been so long since K-Pop became global, but they still don’t seem to grasp the fact that when something like this happens, it immediately disgraces the country." A user wrote after a few Korean fans posted the BBC piece online. Many labeled it as an "embarrassment" to the nation’s image. "This is a real embarrassment for the country," another person wrote. “Well, this is a toxic culture so it deserves some embarrassment," "I think this issue became bigger after Karina actually wrote the apology," the internet is still buzzing with such comments.
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Many fans believe that Karina’s dating apology, which reads, “Hello, this is Karina. Firstly, I am sorry to have shocked you so much. I was late [in addressing it] as I felt like I had to be careful since MYs were very rattled. I know very well just how disappointed MYs, who have been supporting me all this while, were and just how sad you must’ve been as you recalled everything we have talked about together. Because I know just how you feel, I feel even sorrier,” wouldn’t have escalated if she had chosen to address it live instead of writing a letter in the first place.