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BTS Jungkook and aespa Karina’s Controversy Comparisons Spark Heated Reactions

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BTS Jungkook and aespa Karina’s recent political controversies have ignited a fierce debate among Korean netizens over accusations of double standards.

This week, shortly after his military discharge, Jungkook sparked backlash for wearing a “Make Tokyo Great Again” cap during rehearsals for J-Hope’s concert in Seoul. The phrase, which is a spin on United States President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, also drew anger due to South Korea’s historical relationship with Japan.

jungkook mtga

Now, the incident is drawing comparisons to a similar situation involving Karina last month, in which the aespa star faced intense criticism for an Instagram post featuring a black and red jacket with the number two, along with a rose emoji caption.

Netizens interpreted the combination of elements as support for conservative presidential candidate Kim Moon Soo. This led to viral backlash before Karina deleted the post, with international K-Pop fans dubbing her “MAGArina.”

karina red jacket

A viral post on X (formerly known as Twitter) sparked a heated discussion among Korean netizens. Reaching thousands of likes in hours, the post questioned whether the public would react differently to Jungkook’s controversy in comparison to the criticism Karina faced.

“Everyone who tore Karina to shreds, look how quiet they are when it’s a male idol ㅋㅋㅋ

Yoon Suk Yeol, Trump, and now the hat Jungkook wore:

MAKE ___ GREAT AGAIN, Trump’s original slogan MAGA = symbol of the far-right, conservatism, and white supremacy.

MAKE TOKYO GREAT AGAIN = a pro-imperialist, right-wing Japanese slogan.

So, this’ll blow up even bigger than the Karina thing, right?”

— @han_jj70410

Many netizens quickly argued that the controversies weren’t comparable, claiming the far-right implications of Jungkook’s hat were less well-known than the conservative connections Karina’s photo allegedly showed, particularly given the usual caution celebrities have around political imagery during elections.

“I actually really liked Karina and couldn’t care less about Jungkook, but objectively speaking, these scandals aren’t the same.

Realistically, a lot of people genuinely don’t know that hat slogan is tied to far-right ideology, so it’s believable that he didn’t know either.

But Karina went ahead and posted that photo herself when the entire country was on edge and all celebrities were being careful not to even show one or two fingers.”

— @chikpokk

Others also praised Jungkook’s response to the situation in particular. Jungkook quickly addressed the situation with a detailed apology on Weverse shortly after the controversy went viral. He acknowledged his “lack of awareness” and accepted responsibility for not checking the phrase’s historical and political meaning, stating he had “immediately discarded the hat.”

“- Admits he didn’t fully understand the meaning of the slogan

– Acknowledges he was careless and at fault with no excuses

– Accepts all criticism

– Immediately got rid of the hat 

Whatever point you’re trying to make, saying “we tore Karina apart so we have to do the same to him” is a completely wrong way of thinking!”

— @_tian_ow

A large number of users denied that gender bias influenced the public criticism toward Karina, arguing that people targeted her actions proportionately.

“Why do people keep pushing this idea that Karina got dragged just because she’s a woman? That’s some next-level victim complex. It’s not that women on Twitter went after Karina because she’s female and let male idols off the hook. They dragged her because she actually did something wrong. So why are y’all deliberately trying to frame this as women hating on other women? You’re literally the ones doing that. The hypocrisy is wild.”

— @sun_16759

However, numerous netizens completely disagreed with this sentiment. Opposing voices questioned the difference in reactions to the two controversies despite both idols having large fanbases, claiming that Karina’s post was ambiguous, while Jungkook’s hat contained an explicitly far-right message.

“The same people who insisted Karina deserved to be criticized said it wasn’t because she’s a woman, it’s just that she’s more famous, so people talked about it more than they would for a male idol. So why did BTS not get more attention than Karina? She even posted something that included blue, but people still dragged her just because there was red in it. Meanwhile Jungkook’s hat had an actual slogan on it.”

— @llllll1yllllll

Many also claimed that the differences in responses to Karina’s controversy were unfair. After her own incident, Karina took to Bubble to address the matter. She apologized for worrying fans over the “misunderstanding” and vowed to “pay more attention” to her actions in future.

If would’ve been nice if people had said, ‘Let’s just move on~’ for  Karina too ㅋㅋ But seeing how people are still going after her to shield their oppa… yeah, that was never gonna happen ㅠ

— @Ou4uH51jq42701

Others went on to insist that misogyny toward female idols did play a part in the differing outcomes of Jungkook and Karina’s controversies.

‘Women’s Era’ [Daum Cafe board] over-analysis ON

A country that goes soft on men and forgives them way too easily.

— @han_jj70410

Meanwhile, Korean netizens are also sharing their thoughts on how HYBE has handled Jungkook’s controversy.

HYBE’s Handling Of BTS Jungkook’s Controversy Produces Unexpected Results


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