Overview of Aespa
Aespa is a South Korean girl group that debuted on 17 November 2020. SM Entertainment formed the group with four girls: Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning. The group debuted with the single ‘Black Mamba’, and its music video reached 21.4 million views in 24 hours. The use of the metaverse concept and hyperpop music helped them stand out in the K-pop industry.
The history behind the group’s name, ‘Aespa’, is that it is a combination of the English words ‘avatar’ and ‘experience’. Aespa is the altered form of ‘aspect’, which is derived from the combination of ‘avatar’ and ‘experience’. The name ‘Aespa’ indicates “meeting another self and experiencing the new world”.
History and Formation
Aespa is SM Entertainment’s girl group after Red Velvet, which debuted in 2014. Winter is the first member that the agency first revealed as a member of Aespa. Later, the names of Karina, Ningning, and Giselle, respectively, were revealed. Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, introduced the concept of Aespa at the World Cultural Industry Forum on 28 October 2020.

Later, on 17 November, the agency released a trailer video of the members and revealed the date of the group’s debut. The group made their broadcast debut on 20 November. They performed ‘Black Mamba’ in the Music Bank programme streamed on KBS2.
However, before the official debut of the group, two of Aespa’s members, Karina and Ningning, appeared in different music videos.
Karina has performed with Taemin in the song ‘Want’. Also, she has performed with Kai in the show ‘The All-New Tucson, Beyond DRIVE’. The show was a collaboration between Hyundai and SM Entertainment.
Before her debut, Ningning appeared in different television programmes like ‘Rookies Princess: Who’s the Best?’. Also, she has sung numerous cover songs for animated television programmes.
Debut and Initial Performance
The girls debuted with the single ‘Black Mamba’. In May 2021, the girls released their second single, ‘Next Level’. Like the debut single, ‘Next Level’ was also a great success, and it got into the Circle Digital Chart and K-pop Hot 100 chart. Additionally, the single won numerous prestigious awards.
Aespa’s first extended play (EP), ‘Savage’ was released in October 2021. The EP was one of the best-selling debut albums produced by SM Entertainment. The second EP of the group, ‘Girls’, was listed in the Billboard U.S. chart. The group’s third EP, ‘My World’, released in May 2023, became the second best-selling album produced by a girl group. The EP sold over 2.1 million copies.

Members
Karina
Yu Ji-min, famous by the stage name Karina, was born on 11 April 2000 in Gyeonggi, South Korea. She is the leader, lead dancer, visual, sub vocalist, lead rapper, face of the group, and center in Aespa.
Before her debut, she trained for 4 years and was also a former ulzzang (“best face”). She believes in the Catholic religion. She is nicknamed Karomi.
Karina has an obsession with collecting lipsticks. She has a collection of pink and red lipstick shades. She owns a black belt in Taekwondo. She has a habit of cracking her knuckles.
Giselle
Giselle is originally named Uchinaga Aeri. She was born on 30 October 2000, in Seoul, South Korea. In the group, she serves as the main rapper and sub vocalist.
She is the single child of her Japanese father and Korean mother. Her Japanese name is Aeri, which is pronounced as e-ri. Having parents from Korea and Japan, she learned to speak Korean and Japanese. Also, she knows English and a little French.
She was a trainee for 11 months at the agency before her debut. Once she said if she could talk to her 10 year old self, she would tell her to do whatever she wanted to do without holding it back. She believes that “everything happens for a reason”. She says the way she lets her stress out is by eating sweets and shopping.

Winter
Kim Min-jeong, or Winter, was born on 1 January 2001, in Busan, South Korea. In Aespa, she handles the roles of lead vocalist, visual, and lead dancer.
She comes from a family with a military background, since most of her family members have served in the military. Therefore, she dreamed of becoming an officer in the military. When she grew up, she planned to become an actress but switched her choice due to her passion for music and dance. She believes in Buddhism.
After joining the agency, she trained for 4 years. She has a special habit of eating the moment she wakes up. Therefore, she often cooks for her friends. Karina comments that she has amazing cooking skills.
Winter is a great fan of action movies and believes in the existence of aliens.
Ningning
Ningning, or Ning Yizhuo, celebrates her birthday on 23 October 2002. She is Chinese by birth and was born in a place called Harbin, China. She is a single child to her parents. In the group, she is the main vocalist and maknae. She joined SM Entertainment in 2016. Her fandom is named Ningmeng.
She served as a trainee for five years at the agency. She speaks Korean, Mandarin and knows English a little. Her specialty is her loud, husky voice. She likes to dress in vintage style and loves hip-hop music. She is a fan of horror movies. According to her, ‘sexy’ is the word that suits her the most.
As a child, she dreamed of becoming a painter and a princess (inspired by fairy tales). She wrote and composed her first song at the age of 18. In the 2021 Top 100 Most Beautiful Faces chart, Ningning was enrolled in the 38th position.
Discography
Extended Plays
- Savage – 5 October 2021
- Girls – 8 July 2022
- My World – 8 May 2023
- Drama – 10 November 2023
Singles
- “Black Mamba” – 2020
- “Forever” – 2021
- “Next Level” – 2021
- “Savage” – 2021
- “Dreams Come True” – 2021
- “Girls” – 2022
- “Beautiful Christmas” – 2022
- “Welcome to My World” – 2023
- “Spicy” – 2023
- “Drama” – 2023
- “Regret of the Times” – 2024
English Singles
- “Life’s Too Short” – 2022
- “Better Things” – 2023
Sound Tracks
- “Hold on Tight” – Tetris OST 2023
- “We Go” – Pokemon 2023 OST 2023
- “Zoom Zoom” – Beyblade X OST 2023
- “Get Goin” – Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock – Season 2 OST 2024
- “Die Trying” – Rebel Moon: Songs of the Rebellion OST (to be released)

Awards
- Seoul Music Awards 2024
Main Award - Golden Disc Awards 2024
Best Album - Circle Chart Music Awards 2024
Artist of the Year — Streaming Unique Listeners - K-Music and Arts Film Festival 2023
Best K-Pop Music Video - K Global Heart Dream Awards 2023
K Global Best Music Award - Melon Music Awards 2023
Best Female Performance
Million Top 10 Artists
Top 10 Artists
Global Artist - The Fact Music Awards 2023
Artist of the Year
Worldwide Icon - Seoul Music Awards 2023
Main Award - Hanteo Music Awards 2023
Artist of the Year
Best Trend Leader
Global Generation Icon - Circle Chart Music Awards 2022
World Rookie of the Year - Hanteo Music Awards 2022
Artist of the Year - Golden Disc Awards 2022
Artist of the Year
Best Digital Song
Cosmopolitan Artist Award
Rookie Artist of the Year - Asian Pop Music Awards 2022
Top 20 Songs of the Year - iF Product Design Award 2022
Main Prize - Korea First Brand Awards 2022
Female Idol (Rising Star) Award - Korean Music Awards 2022
Best K-pop Song
Rookie of the Year
Song of the Year - Korea PD Awards 2022
Best Performer Award - Seoul Music Awards 2022
Main Award - Asia Artist Awards 2021
Hot Trend Award
Rookie of the Year – Music
Stage of the Year - MAMA Awards 2021
Best Dance Performance – Female Group
Best New Female Artist - Melon Music Awards 2021
Best Group – Female - New Artist of the Year – Female
Record of the Year
Top 10 Artist - MTV Europe Music Awards 2021
Best Korean Act - Asian Pop Music Awards 2021
People’s Choice Award
Top 20 Albums of the Year
Top 20 Songs of the Year - Brand of the Year Awards 2021
Female Rookie Idol Award - Dong-A.com‘s Pick 2021
How Far is the Next Level Award - Circle Chart Music Awards 2021
New Artist of the Year – Digital - Seoul Music Awards 2021
Rookie of the Year - Tokopedia WIB Indonesia K-Pop Awards 2021
The Most Next Level Award - Visionary Awards 2021
2021 Visionary - Asian Pop Music Awards 2020
Best New Artist - Hanteo Music Awards 2020
Artist Award – Female Group - Mubeat Awards 2020
- Rookie Artist – Female

Interesting Facts about Aespa
- Karina is the tallest member of Aespa.
- Giselle’s fandom is called Aerishine.
- Karina said when Ningning joined them, she spoke in the formal language since the other members were older than her.
- Winter thought Ningning was older than her when she met Ningning for the first time.
- Ningning loves to keep her hair black rather than colouring it.
- The first impression that Giselle had about Winter was that she was a calm and quiet person but it turns out wrong when she gets close to her.
- Karina and Winter are a part of Girls on Top, the rotational style girl group formed by SM.
- Ningning is fond of dolls.
- Winter is fond of milk.
- Ningning said that she thought of a hamster when she first met Winter.
FAQs
- When did Aespa debut?
17 November 2020. - Who is the leader of Aespa?
Karina is the leader of Aespa.
- Who is the oldest member of Aespa?
Karina is the oldest member of Aespa.
- How many members are there in Aespa?
4 Members. - Who is the youngest member of Aespa?
Ningning is the youngest member of Aespa. - What are the Instagram IDs of Aespa members?
@katarinabluu (Karina), @aerichandesu (Giselle), @imwinter (Winter), and @imnotningning (Ningning)