History YMMV / Aespa

* BaitAndSwitchLesbians: After it was revealed that she was dating actor Lee Jae-wook, Karina was accused of queerbaiting by many international fans due to her affectionate relationships with Winter and Ryujin from {{Music/Itzy}}. Others pointed out that it is simply a cultural difference in how platonic friends of the same gender act.

* FanPreferredCouple: Karina and Winter, referred to as [="WinRina"=] by fans. They refer to themselves as [=JiMinJeong=], a portmanteau of their Korean names.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Each of the girls qualifies, really, but the most notable three are Winter, Giselle and Ningning.
** In spite of being a strong vocalist and praised for her visuals, Winter is often criticized for her stage presence and dancing skills, a period of time where she was constantly on her phone when out at events as well as allegations of her being supposedly abusive towards animals[[note]][[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/08/aespas-winter-under-fire-for-allegedly-mistreating-hamsters she was criticized for being too rough with a cat (hitting it with her hands and then making a loud noise to scare it away while laughing), having previously revealed she gave up 24 of 25 hamsters she had in her youth]] [[https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/301143/20210901/aespa-winter-comment-nearly-giving-up-raising-lizard-resurfaces.html and joking about nearly getting rid of the group's pet lizard simply because it smelled bad]][[/note]].
** Giselle is also criticized for her appearance, her stage presence and dance skills, accusations that she only got into the group because her aunt is allegedly dating Lee Soo Man and jokingly saying she would commit suicide if she ever dropped her phone. Her then lipsyncing to a song featuring the N-word became another source of contention, breaking the western base over her actions.
** Ningning was criticized for not bowing alongside the others at an event due to cultural differences as well as writing in Chinese on her social media and [[https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/aespa-s-ningning-draws-ire-korean-netizens-appearing-cheer-china-s-controversial-gold-winter-olympics congratulating China after they won a gold medal]], allegedly ignoring screaming fans at their airport.
** Karina was criticized by Chinese netizens for including Manga/MyHeroAcademia in a list of anime series recommendations, which includes a character whose name is a reference to troops from the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Even though that character's name had been changed, she was flooded with angry social media comments.

* CelebrityResemblance: Winter has been called {{Music/Taeyeon}}'s lookalike.
* CoveredUp: aespa's version of "Next Level" is more well known than the original.

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Roy Wood Jr. taking aespa on a tour of New York City. Roy provides most of the humor, but the girls' reactions to him are priceless. In particular, the look on Karina's face when he asks how old thr group members are, Winter interpreting his jokes as lies, and all of them cringing through Roy singing "Don't Stop Believing" at karaoke... minus Ningning, who is grooving out.

** The departure of Yoo Young-Jin from SM Entertainment. Some fans were happy, blamed him for Giselle and Ningning getting less lines and having his voice in the background. Others pointed out that Yoo was the aespa's mentor and was responsible for shaping the group's music.

* FaceOfTheBand: Expect to see Karina as the center in music videos and media appearances.

** Giselle is also criticized for her appearance, her stage presence and dance skills, accusations that she only got into the group because her aunt is allegedly dating Lee Soo Man and jokingly saying she would commit suicide if she ever dropped her phone. Her then saying the N-word became another source of contention, breaking the western base over her actions.

** Giselle is also criticized for her appearance, her stage presence and dance skills, accusations that she only got into the group because her aunt is allegedly dating Lee Soo Man and jokingly saying she would commit suicide if she ever dropped her phone. Her then saying the N-word (see NWordPrivileges below) became another source of contention, breaking the western base over her actions.

** Averted with "Dreams Come True," which was advertised as being part of a wider cover project.

* NWordPrivileges: Giselle faced controversy for lip syncing the N Word of a Music/{{SZA}} song that was playing during a behind the scenes video of a photoshoot.

* NWordPrivileges: Giselle faced controversy for lip syncing the N Word of a Music/{{SZA}} song that was playing during a behind the scenes video of a photoshoot.

* BrokenBase: The members' avatars. Some say they are an interesting part of the lore, others a promotion of unrealistic body images. Some fans would just as well do away with the Culture Universe altogether and stick to music.

** Giselle is also criticized for her appearance, her stage presence and dance skills, accusations that she only got into the group because her aunt is allegedly dating Lee Soo Man and jokingly saying she would commit suicide if she ever dropped her phone.

* FandomRivalry: With Blinks, Music/BlackPink fans.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: In spite of being a strong vocalist, Winter is often criticized for her stage presence.

* JiggleShow: While Karina is known to have great stage presence (to many, the best in the group), many of her fancams tend to go viral due to her natural "bounciness."

* JiggleShow: While Karina is known to have great stage presence (to many, the best in the group), many her fancams tend to go viral out of her natural "bounciness."

* FanPreferredCouple: Karina and Winter, referred to as "WinRina" by fans. They refer to themselves as JiMinJeong, a portmanteau of their Korean names.