aespa’s Karina stirs controversy with comment about K-pop groups that “fight a lot”

South Korean singer Karina of aespa has stirred controversy with her recent comment about other K-pop groups.

aespa recently made an appearance in a new Rolling Stone YouTube video, where the girl group and American singer Grimes interviewed one another about music, using AI in the industry and more.

At one point in the video, Grimes asked aespa: “How is it like working with all four of you and negotiating and all that? In many ways, it’s great but every time I do have a creative partner, it is so fulfilling, but sometimes you fight.”

Karina responded by saying that despite the four members of aespa having “different personalities”, she believes the quartet “come together well”. She added: “And we just get along well as people. And because we understand each other well, even without saying anything, we also work well together.”

Karina then compared aespa to “other K-pop groups”, saying that “people fight a lot and there are a lot of teams that don’t work well together”, while not mentioning any specific groups.

“But even from the beginning, we didn’t have those issues,” she continued. “And if a conflict arises, we try to resolve it immediately. So I think we’re able to work well without any issues.”

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Karina’s comments about other K-pop groups have since been received a mixed reception by fans of the genre, with SBS Star reporting that some netizens in Korea are unhappy with the way she handled the question.

The news outlet reported that some said Karina was “wrong to let that out in an interview”, while others asked if the K-pop idol was “comparing aespa to other groups to make her feel better or something?”

In contrast, according to comments seen and translated by Koreaboo, others have come to the singer’s defence. “It’s not like she committed a crime,” one said, with another saying that “she must have seen some things. She’s just saying that aespa isn’t like that.”

In other K-pop news, BTS’ V has addressed fans after a stalking incident, telling them that he is “all good”. Meanwhile, former Miss A member Bae Suzy has touched on her desire to retire from the entertainment industry, saying that it could happen “at any time”.