aespa Karina is caught in a major backlash amid South Korea’s presidential election news.
Lee Jae Myung of the Democratic Party just won the presidency. But international K-pop fans are laser-focused on Karina’s recent political scandal instead.
Karina, nicknamed “Magarina” by netizens, is trending hard—with comments mocking and dragging her reputation overseas.
Fans flooded X (formerly Twitter) with memes and jokes targeting her, overshadowing the actual election.
Many Korean netizens reacted to how badly Karina’s image is tanking globally.
“It’s over for her as Margarina. The other aespa members just stepped in sh*t by association.”
— Korean forum comment“Sigh… Karina’s image has crossed the point of no return.”
— Korean netizen reaction“Her image is trashed in the worst way. She brought it on herself.”
— Comment from theqoo forum“Even on BBC’s TikTok, ‘Margarina’ is the top comment, so people are all like, ‘Who’s Karina?’ lol.”
— Korean netizen observation
The drama has sparked debate over whether the intense focus on Karina is genuine political concern or just performative activism fueled by K-pop fanwar rivalries.
“People in the qts giving more hate to Karina than actual members of the PPP and u wanna tell me this isn’t performative activism” — Twitter user @blueraspberrya1
“The way karina is more TALKED than the actual elected president in the qrts says a lot that ppl don’t care about korean politics” — Twitter user @yusionbluu
“See how the comments are all dragging karina? If he had lost, she would also be put on blame. Really shows it’s all just a kpop fanwar to you lots, no genuine political concern at all.” — Twitter user @mysonezen
Karina’s controversy keeps gaining traction—even as South Korea moves on with its new president.
