Did Aespa’s Karina really slam BTS, NCT and Exo? Rumours aside, the new K-pop girl group leader is already super popular just a month after her debut – how did she do it?

Dec 15 , 2020

Aespa K-pop group leader Karina. Credit: SM Entertainment

She appeared alongside Exo’s Kai for a Hyundai promotion and performed live with Shinee’s Taemin – plus her group’s debut song Black Mamba has already charted in 95 countries – here’s why Karina is SM Entertainment’s newest darling

Less than a month after her debut with Aespa, group leader Karina has already made waves among K-pop fans with her impactful singing, impressive dance skills and stunning looks.

The South Korean girl group’s debut single Black Mamba charted in a total of 95 countries, but beyond being the best-known face of SM Entertainment’s new “monster rookie” band, what else do we know about her?

She trained for four years before her debut

Born as Yoo Jimin in 2000, Karina was a trainee at SM Entertainment for four years before her debut. This lead fans to speculate that she was set to be the group leader as she had been with the agency the longest.

She was popular even before Aespa

She gained popularity among fans even before her debut due to her many performances alongside her sunbaes (a Korean term for “experienced idols”).

In 2019, she was a backup dancer for Shinee’s Taemin during a live performance of his single Want. Eagle-eyed fans even noticed that the cameras would focus on Karina instead of Taemin at certain points, and speculated that it might be SM’s way to drive hype around an upcoming idol.

Earlier this year, Karina also co-starred with Exo’s Kai in a promotion for the Hyundai Tucson, putting her acting skills on display as the pair played two characters who meet in the real world and then again in another dimension.

Leaked videos went viral