On October 26, Monday, SM Entertainment shocked fans with the sudden announcement of an upcoming girl group debut, Aespa. One of the highly speculated members of the group is Chinese trainee, Ningning. However, numerous Korean netizens have voiced their opinions against her joining the group due to her ethnicity.
Ningning is one of SM Entertainment's most famous trainee. She was introduced as a member of SM Rookies in 2016 and has been training with the company for over four years. She had previously appeared on the 'Mickey Mouse Club' with other SM Rookie members.
She is Chinese and was born in Harbin. She was born in 2002, making her 18 in international age and 19 in Korean age. Prior to signing with SM Entertainment, she was a member of the show 'Let's Sing Kids' in China alongside current NCT Dream member Chenle. Even as a trainee, she showed off impressive vocals and a strong command of the Korean language.
While Ningning is loved by international fans, it appears Korean netizens do not have favorable opinions about her. Many believe she should not be debuting in South Korea and have expressed how much they have Chinese idols.
See netizens' comments below:
"Please throw away the Chinese member."
"I do not want to see Chinese idols. Why does SM Entertainment always let Chinese trainees debut? Look at Victoria. These Chinese idols are distorting Korean history."
"Is that foreigner Chinese? Wow, SM really can't lose the Chinese."
"SM, is there anything going through your head when you see a national petition has been put in place?"
"I don't like Chinese idols, but Ningning is pretty."
However, some have started to defend Ningning, calling her the visual member of the group. Some have even wondered how people can be racist to someone who has yet to make their debut. See some of those comments below:
"It appears that Ningning is their visual member."
"Why are you people so racist against who a kid who hasn't even debuted yet?"
"Ningning is the visual member."
Tensions between South Korea and China are at an all-time high, with Korean netizens even filing a petition to ban certain Chinese idols from actively promoting in South Korea. The reason they have done so is because they think that Chinese idols have distorted views of the Korean war and are sharing propaganda material showing this distorted version of history, all while gaining popularity in South Korea and gaining worldwide recognition by being a K-pop idol.
Numerous K-pop idols were named in the list, including EXO's Lay and f(x)'s Victoria. Lay is still signed with SM Entertainment, while Victoria's activities in South Korea are reportedly still being managed by the company. Other big names include former PRISTIN member Kylkyung and WJSN's Cheng Xiao, Meiqi, and Xuanyi.
ALSO READ : Korean Netizens Start Petition To Ban Certain Chinese Idols From Actively Promoting in Korea
Aespa is scheduled to debut in November 2020. They have already revealed their first member, Winter the same day they revealed the group name. While Ningning is currently not a confirmed member, fans believe it is highly likely she will be included in the line-up.
What do you think of the situation?
Owned by KpopStarz
Written by Alexa L.
