aespa’s Karina and ENHYPEN’s Jungwon face election season backlash over color choices
aespa’s Karina stirred controversy after posting photos on May 26 wearing a red jacket with the number “2” and captioning it with a rose emoji. These elements are associated with Korea’s right-wing party, sparking debate amid heightened election season sensitivities.
Idols generally avoid political symbols during elections. Fans quickly pointed out the potential implications of Karina’s post.
Meanwhile, ENHYPEN’s Jungwon went live with a black and white filter, widely seen as an attempt to hide wearing red or blue—the two main political colors in Korea.
The move sparked mixed reactions. Some criticized Jungwon for sticking to red and blue outfits instead of avoiding those colors altogether during election time. Others accused him of seeking a “viral moment.”
no shade but why are these idols acting like someone is holding them at gunpoint to wear blue and red during the elections? like so many other colors exist are they stupid
— (@njpinkz)
He wants his Wonyoung moment so bad Im ctfuuu who’s gonna tell him he’s too irrelevant to go viral
— jia (@kebabjiaa)
his untalented ass craving attention with anything
— Khiaender (@Khiaender2000)
Other fans rushed to defend Jungwon, calling out the unfair backlash.
“he wants a viral moment” god forbid an idol wants to go live and communicate with his fans while being socially aware of the situation in his country yall in the quotes wants to hate just to hate lmao
— ㅌㅌ (@tatiw0n)
forbid an idol to be cautious of his actions. there’s nothing wrong with what he did. it’s not his fault that he’s smart enough to avoid any issues. leave jungwon alone you dumb fucks
— kye ◜◡◝ (@akyezy)
Please don’t speak politics for other countries, you don’t know anything. He does that to avoid drama and not being an attention. He does that for himself, it’s not for you. It’s his reputation & mental health he need to take care of , not yours. Mind your idol’s business.
— kittyy.jw (@Cloudblueskycat)
This comes after presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung was declared the winner following a highly charged election period that saw heavy public attention, including his viral moment climbing over a fence during former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration.
With the election over, idols are expected to have more freedom to wear any colors without political controversy moving forward.
