Karina apologizes, Jennie remains silent “Idols with different dating moves”

Karina left a handwritten apology letter to the fandom on March 5th, following the revelation of her relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook about a week ago.

Karina apologized to fans, “First of all, I’m sorry for surprising and causing concern to my fans. This is late, but I have made a lot of consideration (before writing this). I know many of you MYs (aespa’s fandom) may have been disappointed when recalling our shared memories. I’m aware of your sadness, and deeply feel regret and apologize for any hurt feelings that I’ve caused.”

Karina added, “While I’m not sure if you’d be hurt again reading this, I still wrote this letter in hope of sincerely expressing my apologies to the fans who have given me the warmest winter since my debut. I want to mend any wounds that (the news) have caused, as MYs have always supported me unconditionally and even now, I consider your support as precious. Once again, I sincerely apologize and thank you.“

The public’s reaction to Karina’s handwritten apology letter was mixed.

Some wondered why she had to leave such a lengthy handwritten apology letter when she had not made such a big mistake to cause social uproar or personality controversies.

On the other hand, some interpreted that Karina, who was more sincere to fans than anyone else, wanted to convey her feelings through the handwritten apology letter with great courage.

As aespa’s core member, representing the 4th-generation girl group with a global fandom, Karina is indeed facing a strong backlash from the aftermath of her relationship. Some viewed positively her stepping forward to rectify the negative reaction from the fandom and taking responsibility.

Furthermore, the response strategy of Karina’s agency SM Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as SM), which admitted her relationship after the dating rumors surfaced and tried to calm the fandom’s anger through a handwritten apology letter, is also receiving positive feedback.

In fact, until recently, entertainment agencies drew a line under the guise of “artist’s personal privacy” regarding dating rumors.

YG Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as YG) artists’ dating rumors are a prime example. BLACKPINK’s Jennie is once again in the spotlight amid the aftermath of Karina’s relationship revelation.

Jennie was the center of attention in sensational dating rumors last year. The repeated response to the numerous dating rumors with BTS’s V last year was simply “personal privacy”.

During this process, Jennie’s private life photos were leaked, causing damage, and the fandom issued a statement demanding “Jennie’s private life protection” while expressing dissatisfaction with YG’s silence.

Eventually, as the dating rumors subsided without being confirmed, breakup rumors emerged as V’s military enlistment approached. This, too, passed without any special response.

Jennie also remained silent and did not leave any information about the dating and breakup rumors.

The contrast between Karina’s sincere expression of her feelings to fans and Jennie’s silence amid the aftermath of her dating and breakup rumors. This is why fans are paying attention to “idols with different dating moves”.