What’s Happening To aespa Members? A Closer Look At Their July Schedule Baffles Fans

The aespa members’ tight-packed schedules and back-to-back health issues have started to concern netizens.

Recently, a user on the popular Korean online community, Theqoo, uploaded a post outlining the extraordinarily packed schedule of Karina, who had to sit out three shows of their current world tour recently due to poor health.

In July alone, Karina had eight concerts, three music show appearances, multiple personal schedules, and fan signing events, both in-person and virtual, scheduled on her agenda. Here is a full breakdown of it, according to the OP’s (original poster) post:

• July 2 – Departed for Japan
• July 3 – (Japan debut song release)
• Japanese music show: Weekly Nainai Music (live broadcast)
• July 4 – Returned to Korea for personal schedule
• July 6 – Departed for Fukuoka – departed on the day of the concert
• July 6 – Fukuoka concert
• July 10-11 – Nagoya concert
• July 12 – Japanese music show: M Station (live broadcast)
• July 13 – Pre-recording for Japanese music show
• July 14-15 – Saitama concert
• July 16 – Departed for New York for personal schedule
• July 18 – From New York to Singapore (19-hour flight)
• July 20 – Singapore concert
• July 21 – Singapore offline fan signing
• Departed for Shanghai
• July 22– China offline fan signing
• July 23 – China one-day café manager event
• Returned to Korea
• July 24 – Recording (shared via Bubble), 2 video call fan signings
• July 25 – Non-public schedule – learned through Bubble that there were two schedules
• July 26 – Bubble message around 5 am saying all schedules were finished
• July 26 – Departed for Osaka (around 5 pm)
• July 27-28 – Osaka concert (participated on the 27th only and missed the 28th due to poor condition)

The OP added that it wasn’t just Karina who had a busy schedule. Apart from her personal activities, almost all of these were group schedules, which meant that the other three members were also unimaginably busy.

While idols often do follow hectic work schedules, all four of the aespa members have shown health concerns, which is the cause of fans’ alarm. The OP pointed out that Giselle had developed a bruise under her eye, which was visible until a few days ago. When a fan asked her the cause of the injury, she said she got hurt while she fell.

Winter had also had to take a break from performing as she underwent emergency surgery for a collapsed lung. She had her surgery in April, and even though pneumothorax surgery usually up to two months of recovery time for a full recovery, aespa made a comeback in May and kicked off their world tour in June.

NingNing, on the other hand, allegedly showed signs of dehydration and exhaustion toward the end of the promotional activities of “Supernova” and “Armageddon.” She had to sit out the K-Wave Concert on June 2 due to exhaustion.

Needless to say, fans are absolutely displeased with SM Entertainment crowding Aespa’s schedule to the degree that it is becoming physically taxing for all members.

• “It’s already hot enough to make your stamina drop significantly. This is just too muchㅠㅠ”
• “Their schedule is harsh.”
• “A tour with personal schedules… it’s really over the top…”
• “SM really sucks. They’re making money by exhausting the life out of the girl group members.”
• “Idols are usually pushed harder to make more money, so they get worked really hard.”
• “What’s so important about the New York schedule that they’re pushing people so hard and running them into the ground?”
• “Reduce the number of events. Is it right that they end up missing their main performances because they have to handle all these other schedules?”