In an online community, K-Netz sparked a heated discussion about the alleged discrimination against NingNing and Giselle within the aespa group after viewing THIS photo.
On August 6, a user on Nate Pann posted an article titled, “To what extent is there discrimination among aespa members?”
In the attached photo, the boxes of fan signing items for the quartet in Hong Kong can be seen in the following order: Giselle, NingNing, Winter, and Karina.
The OP complained about the transparent boxes which hold fan gifts, letters, and tributes for each member.
“Regardless of popularity, isn’t it unfair that the company prepared different-sized boxes for each member?”
By observing the photo, it can be deduced that NingNing and Giselle were given smaller containers due to receiving fewer gifts, while Winter received the largest box, with Karina following closely behind.
Despite having different intentions, fans were suspicious that Giselle and NingNing were facing discrimination. Additionally, the company indirectly damaged their confidence by creating the perception that they had fewer fans compared to the other two members.
Giselle and NingNing’s supporters also contributed to the complaints, stating:
- “But SM’s member discrimination has been going on since then. It hasn’t been fixed, but there are a lot more than that.”
- “It’s uncomfortable to watch because they’re so blatantly discriminatory from the seat assignments. They’re not like two princesses or two maids, and the unpopular members are always on the sidelines.”
- “Although Karina & Winter is overwhelmingly popular, I don’t think that’s to the extent that Giselle & NingNing is inferior to them. I like Ningning the most too, but I can understand that much.”
- “If you fill up the small container, can’t you just put it back and put another small container on it? That seems a bit lacking in sense and consideration.”
- “It’s ridiculous that they have to make it a transparent box so that everything can be seen. They could have just prepared a paper box of the same size so that the inside could not be seen. Did they do it like that on purpose?”
- “Wow, but Giselle is less popular than I thought.”
Conversely, many Korean MYs (fans of aespa) have clarified that the discrepancy in popularity among the members is not a form of discrimination. While the majority of fans show equal support for all four members, there are still some who solely support one member, known as a solo stan.
These fans are bound to happen. Therefore, MYs elaborated:
- “If you receive a large amount (of gifts), you have no choice but to change it to a larger box…? What kind of discrimination is this?”
- “If the box sizes are the same, it will be like this.”
- “It’s not discrimination, it’s just the difference in their popularity.”
- “There’s nothing you can do about popular members. It’s not easy for fans to treat all 4 members equally, and it’s not just aespa, but the popularity difference is inevitable in any group.”
- “They predicted the influx and put the boxes away well. They are good at their job. If they put the same size in there, wouldn’t the empty ones be more noticeable? Every group has popular members. How can that be discrimination?”
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