aespa’s WINTER discusses fear, freedom, and staying open to new challenges while preparing a solo stage for the group’s world tour.
September/21/2026 10:44
aespa’s WINTER revealed her true feelings about freedom. Fashion magazine COSMOPOLITAN unveiled the October issue cover shot with WINTER. WINTER, who had to do a pictorial shoot in advance during a period when she was traveling back and forth between Korea and the United States as aespa, perfectly wore FW looks despite the weather still retaining the heat. WINTER said, “I’m relatively strong against heat, so today’s shoot was not that difficult,” and “I’m getting used to being busy with a lot of schedules. It may be best if I could focus on just one job in a year, but because I am moving forward with several projects at the same time, I am putting effort into how I distribute my stamina. Even so, if there is something I want to do, I am the type to definitely voice my opinion. I try not to miss even small things,” revealing. Even amid a busy schedule, WINTER, who always strives to show a new side of herself, said about this, “I’m actually really timid by nature. I’m scared of trying new things too. So my thought process goes like, ‘I’m really scared of new things,’ ‘No, everyone is doing it!’ ‘I have to do it, Minjeong (WINTER’s real name)!’ ‘Why am I the only one being so scared!’” She continued, “One day, when I suddenly looked back on what I had done so far, I realized I had challenged myself with more new things than other people. But my true self is that when I challenge something, I carry fear and worry more than most people do!” and laughed. She also revealed hints about the solo stage prepared for this tour. “In the solo stages at previous concerts, I had released new songs about three times, but it was song—dance—song. So this time I thought it was time to do dance. I also really wanted to dance. None of the people at the company chose this song as the top priority, but I was drawn to this song and ended up doing it. It’s also a genre I’ve never tried even once before. Come to think of it, it’s similar to today’s pictorial concept too! It’s a western-style dance number,” she said. Finally, when asked whether she is free now, WINTER said, “I think it depends on how you think about it (laughs). If you think you are feeling pressure, you can be suppressed endlessly, and if you think you can do it, you can become infinitely free, right? Because of our profession, we also enjoy many things that other people cannot do. So rather than a desire to become free, I don’t want to lose my current mindset of ‘I can do anything.’” aespa, to which WINTER belongs, released their 2nd full album “LEMONADE” in May. Following that, starting with Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome in August, they are successfully carrying out a new world tour, “SYNK : COMPLæXITY,” which will travel through 25 regions.
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