KARINA discusses her Lollapalooza debut, nerves on stage, touring cities, and why she likes the word “strong.”
October/10/2026 12:44
KARINA said that the word “strong” is a favorite word no matter when she hears it. “ELLE KOREA” released a pictorial and interview with aespa’s KARINA. This pictorial was shot with the concept of KARINA transforming while changing outfits, and it captured KARINA’s diverse expressions. In the interview conducted at the same time as the pictorial shoot, KARINA revealed her thoughts on standing on the stage of “Lollapalooza Chicago,” held in Chicago, USA, this August, for the first time: “It was a stage we prepared for very hard. Since it was a festival stage we stood on after a long time, all the members practiced until late in order to do their best in each part they were in charge of. The set list was also composed mainly of songs we had not shown much until now, and we wanted to complete a fulfilling stage.” KARINA, who says she feels more nervous on stage than she expected, nevertheless said that she is able to make use of that nervousness within herself. KARINA said, “Nervousness is also one of the important emotions that human beings can feel. When I get nervous, mistakes actually decrease. It comes from feelings like ‘What if I fail?’ and ‘What if I cannot meet expectations?’ so I think it is by no means a bad thing to stand on stage while carrying nervousness.” When asked what she looks forward to as she continues the world tour “2026-27 aespa LIVE TOUR - SYNK : COMPLaeXITY,” she said, “In order to directly feel the cities where the tour is held, I always make it a point to go outside the hotel. As the word ‘tour’ means ‘travel,’ I always look forward to places I would not have been able to go to or experiences I would not have been able to have if I were not doing this job.” Finally, when KARINA was asked about the meaning of the word “strong,” she answered, “I think it is close to having a core. Having a core means that one’s own standards and values do not easily waver. It means clearly knowing oneself and having a firm core within. So I like the word strong.”
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