Americans may have been infatuated this past year with the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift relationship, but a similarly A-list mega-couple in South Korea — K-pop superstar Karina and K-drama actor Lee Jae-wook — is not being shown the same love. It seems pressure from fans and her talent agency has forced Karina to publicly apologize for having the personal relationship with Jae-wook.
Karina, the lead singer of K-pop super group Aespa, took to her Instagram on Tuesday to tell fans (in Korean but translated to English here), “I know very well how disappointed the MYs [Aespa fans] who have supported me up until now must be, and I also know that they are feeling upset while thinking back on the things we’ve said to one another.”
She continued, “I feel even more sorry because I, too, understand those feelings all too well.”
Karina went on to lament “Even though I’m worried that this [letter] may hurt MYs [Aespa fans] one more time, the reason I’m taking the risk and writing this is because I wanted to convey that I am sincerely sorry to the fans who gifted me with the warmest winter of my life from the moment I debuted.”
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She added, “Starting now, I want to do a good job filling the places where MYs have been wounded. I have always been sincere towards MYs, and even now, each and every one of you is truly precious to me.”
So what is it about the relationship that’s so heinous that Karina had to issue such a strongly worded apology? Was it an illicit affair involving cheating spouses? No. Was one of the partners underage, or an employee of the other? Wrong again. Karina was forced to apologize for a personal relationship between two consenting, single adults for no other reason than the fact that finding out she’s dating someone makes her unattainable to her legions of fans. Seriously.
You know how your friends made fun of you in high school when you thought you had a shot with that one girl totally out of your league? Now imagine that instead of making fun of you, your friends openly supported your warped perspective, had the same false hopes themselves, and went so far as to turn their backs on the girl you all collectively pined after when she instead decided to date someone more in her league. That seems to be more or less the case here.
According to reporting in the BBC, K-pop stars have been forced for some time to perpetuate the illusion that they are romantically attainable to their legions of fans — by being strongly dissuaded from dating and/or having anything resembling a normal personal life of their own. Some have even needed to obtain permission in the event they want to get married.
The article further notes that, “Just a decade ago, it was common practice for K-pop agencies to ban new stars from dating or even having a personal mobile phone, and even now admissions of romantic relationships were [sic] often considered scandalous to fans.”
If that sounds hard to believe, consider the backlash Karina has faced since news of her relationship with Lee Jae-wook was confirmed by her music label.
Apparently incensed fans drove a truck to SM Entertainment, Aespa’s agency, with an electronic billboard on the vehicle that spelled out the harsh message, “Is the love given to you by Karina fans not enough? Why did you choose to betray the fans?”
And the note didn’t end there. “Please apologize directly. Otherwise, you will see a decrease in album sales and empty concert seats.” Ouch, that’s quite a threat.
Also, consider the amount of work that had to go into that. Fans had to fork over the dough to rent an electronic billboard truck, drive to the agency’s headquarters, and probably pay by the letter just to throw shade at their favorite pop star… all for having a boyfriend?! And the BBC claims these trucks “have become a common practice used by K-pop fans to show support or discontent in recent days.”
If you’re thinking that this whole thing may not ever turn into a Hallmark movie, that’s probably an understatement — and you’re not alone. At least fans have been flocking to the comments section of Karina’s Instagram to offer their support.
“Apologize for loving someone? you don’t need to do this you deserve to be happy😭❤️” read one comment.
“No idols should apologize for dating in 2024😭,” read another.
A third comment said, “You don’t need to apologise [sic] for feeling. I will always root for your happiness. You deserve all the love, support, all the good things.”
Aespa’s Karina and her boyfriend Lee Jae-wook deserve better from their fans, and the fact that she had to apologize at all is the only real injustice here.
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