While aespa’s Karina was embroiled in controversy over her ‘red jumper number 2’ outfit she wore ahead of the 21st presidential election, the group aespa proved their solid presence by taking home the grand prize at the awards ceremony.

The 2nd ‘Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2025’ (ASEA 2025)kicked off on the 28th at the Yokohama K-Arena in Japan.’ASEA 2025’, now in its second year, is a global performance-style awards ceremony that brings together top stars and top K -pop artists active in each Asian country, proving its overwhelming interest by selling out all 18,700 seats.

Amidst the splendid stage including the experienced hosting of MC The Boyz’s Juyeon and Ive Ray and the Daesang award presentation by actor Jang Geun Suk, aespa, which Karina is a part of, won Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, and The Platinum, taking home three crowns despite the heated controversy.They proved their power by sweeping the music industry last year with a string of hit songs such as “Supernova,” “Armageddon,” and “Whiplash.”

On stage, Karina showed off a bright red jumper with the number ‘2’ prominent, which led to political interpretations.There was criticism that it was reminiscent of a certain political party ahead of the election, but fans still went wild for aespa’s stage.As the controversy continued, Karina directly stated her position through the fan community.She said, “I’m really sorry for worrying Mai.I didn’t mean to do that at all, but the misunderstanding kept getting bigger and Mai was so worried, so I thought I should talk to her directly.In the future, I will pay more attention and be more careful,” and dismissed the misunderstanding.

Enhypen, who also won the grand prize, also won three awards, including Album of the Year, The Platinum, and Top Touring Artist, based on their cumulative album sales of 5.45 million copies last year, a world tour around the world, and big stages such as Coachella.

In addition, IBE, NiziU, NCT Wish, and Timeless won the Platinum, and NiziU and NCT Wish also won the Best Performance and Best Group trophies, respectively, making them double crown winners.

The Best New Artist award went to NexG, Hearts2Hearts, and Kiki, while Xdinary Heroes won the Best Band award on their first ‘ASEA’ stage, establishing themselves as a next-generation K-pop band.

‘ASEA 2025’ is co-hosted by ‘Newsen’ celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, ‘style’ celebrating its 13th anniversary, and The Star N M, and organized by the ASEA Organizing Committee and Zozotown.The awards ceremony will continue on the 29th.Various artists including & TEAM, Idle, and Zero Base One will appear, and actors Kim Hye-yoon, Monsta X’s Hyungwon, and The Boyz’s Younghoon will serve as emcees.Actor Byun Woo-seok will take the stage as a presenter of the Grand Prize.



Reporter Lee Su com jin sujinl22@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.