Karina Makes First Official Appearance after Admitting Relationship, But Sad Situation Occurred
After acknowledging the dating rumors with actor Lee Jae-wook, aespa Karina made her first official appearance, drawing attention
On the afternoon of the 29th last month, Karina visited a beer popup store located in a department store in Jamsil, Seoul. The beer brand is one for which Karina serves as an advertising model. Karina’s appearance at the popup store on that day became a hot topic even on various online communities.
Dressed in a refreshing blue-toned style suitable for the atmosphere of the popup store, Karina posed for photos and signed autographs as guided. Despite various speculations and some negative reactions from fans pouring in after admitting to the relationship, Karina maintained a professional demeanor, constantly smiling.
A netizen who claimed to have visited the popup store mentioned, “Her mental state seems fine, and reportedly, there were zero ‘hommas’ (specialized fans who take photos of idols) present.”
“Homma” refers to fans who follow idols’ schedules, taking photos with good cameras and uploading them to their own websites. Typically, hommas always accompany idols on their public schedules, so this case is considered unusual. Netizens speculate that along with some fans announcing their departure from fandom (stopping fan activities) due to Karina’s dating news, hommas might have also followed suit.
A netizen from ‘X’ (an old Twitter platform) commented, “There was a Karina popup event today, but if you search ‘240229 Karina,’ all the core fans are gone, no homma photos at all, just photos taken with regular phones. It’s really sad. I hope they have a good relationship.”
Meanwhile, Karina had admitted to dating Lee Jae-wook on the 27th of last month. The two reportedly met at a luxury brand fashion show in Milan, Italy, in January, fell for each other, and their relationship blossomed. Dispatch was the first to report on their relationship, also releasing photos of them dating discreetly in Seoul.
As the emergence of this power couple unfolded, fans showered them with congratulations and support, but some fans were disappointed. Especially, some Karina fans expressed their disappointment by leaving negative comments or certifying their departure from fandom on the new content released on aespa’s official YouTube channel on the 28th of last month.
