K-netizens react to rumor of aespa “bullying former SM trainees” after Kep1er’s Chaehyun reveals aespa supports her debut

aespa got involved in quite a few negative rumors during the early days of their debut, and one of them has been debunked. 

Kep1er’s Chaehyun is known as a former SM trainee who practiced with the current members of aespa for a long time. She is even rumored to be included in the debut lineup of aespa. Since her appearance on “Girls Planet 999” until now, Chaehyun has repeatedly had her name trending on online communities in Korea. Many fans say Chaehyun’s visuals are “SM style”.

Although they eventually could not debut in the same group, according to Chaehyun, she still received warm support from aespa members for her debut in Kep1er. Chaehyun shared in the debut showcase, “aespa sunbaenims contacted me to congratulate me, saying, ‘Now we can meet at the backstage of music shows’, ‘Let’s meet in the waiting room’. Sunbaenims are very busy so we haven’t seen each other for a long time. I hope we can meet each other soon.”

Based on what was revealed by Chaehyun, Korean netizens have the opportunity to recall a negative rumor that aespa got embroiled in during the early days of their debut, claiming that the members bullied and isolated other female trainees of SM back when they were practicing together. However, Chaehyun, who trained at the same time with aespa, still stays in contact with the group and gives each other sincere congratulations. This means aespa’s bullying rumors are completely fabricated. 

• “From the beginning, except for Giselle who only trained for a short time, only 3 aespa members experienced trainee life with other girls, how could 3 people isolate the rest of SM trainees ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
• “Because of this rumor, aespa got a lot of hate on Pann back then…. People were calling them all kinds of mean words. It was very serious”
• “When aespa debuted, Kim Chaehyun even liked aespa’s Instagram post. I don’t understand where the bullying rumors came from ㅋㅋ…”
• “The funniest thing is that there were even rumors of Giselle using drugs and that she is a Yakuza (a word used to refer to traditional mafia or criminal organizations in Japan) ㅋㅋㅋ I was curious about this so I searched for Giselle’s debut fancam and all I saw was a cheerful girl who just got to debut…”
• “Seriously, Pann was crazy at the time.”
• “ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ And now a lot of people are starting to say SM blackmailed Kim Chaehyun to say nice things about aespa, are you crazy?”
• “Those who used to hate on aespa for that rumor are now starting to leave negative comments on Kim Chaehyun too ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kim Chaehyun fans must be really tired, just because people are always looking for ways to target SM Rookies with hate, she’s been dragged into a lot of unwarranted hate since before debut. Find strength.”
• “In the SM Rookies lineup back in the day, there were many popular girls with a large predebut fan base. Everyone expected them to debut in the final lineup. How did Karina and Winter – those who joined the company later, bully the rest ㅋㅋㅋ That sounds ridiculous…”
• “aespa: Karina, Winter, Ning Ning // SM former trainees: Kim Chaehyun, Ahn Jeongmin, Goeun, Lami, Hina, Herin, Xu Yiyang + numerous other unrevealed trainees. How could 3 members of aespa bully that many trainees?”
• “I can’t stop laughing when I think of the rumor that Giselle is a Yakuza ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”