aespa Karina is caught in a political controversy over her recent Instagram photo dump.
The uproar started with a photo of Karina wearing a black and red jacket. Many netizens claim it resembles the conservative party’s colors. But Karina also posted various blue items in the same dump—blue nails, a large blue plate, and blue cups and bowls—sparking debate over her true intent.
Other celebrities who posted red and blue together, like Jung Chaeyeon with red roses and blue sky, G-Dragon with mixed Instagram story colors, and actress Kim Da Som with a peace sign selfie, faced no backlash. Fans argue Karina is unfairly singled out.
One Twitter user pointed out:
"Karina uploaded both of these photos in the same photo dump but u only saw the red jacket. Other idols upload a photo with red & blue, u call them Neutral King & Queen, but y’all accuse her of supporting one party!"
Another stressed:
"Karina posted 13 pictures besides ‘that one picture’. There’s pics in which the number 2 was not visible, 6 of her pictures was without the jacket with a blue plate and nails. It was clearly just a photo dump that ppl made narratives about."
Karina has a history of matching emojis to her outfit. The red rose caption fits her usual Instagram habits rather than a political message.
"Karina has been using emojis to match details on her clothes since the beginning of her account. The rose isn’t even a symbol of the party. She saw the misunderstanding, immediately deleted and clarified it WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING and even when idols are supposed to stay neutral…"
Fans also noted a staff member was carrying the black and red jacket in some photos, raising questions if it was even meant as a political statement.
"Y’all can see the bodyguard/manager on the right is actually holding the black and red jacket. If she was making a political statement with it why would she be carrying it around a theme park?"
So far, the photos appear to be part of a simple travel photo log. The intense scrutiny on Karina’s images compared to other idols is sparking discussions online about fan biases and political hot takes in K-pop fandoms.
