Karina

Promotional Photo for Drama

**Yu Ji-min** (Hangul: 유지민), also known by her stage name **Karina** (Hangul: 카리나), is a member of the South Korean girl group aespa and the female unit GOT the beat.

## Early Life

Karina was born in Seongnam-si, South Korea. She went to Seongnam Shingi Elementary School and Jeongja Middle School and later got her GED after leaving Hansol High School.

## Career

### Pre-debut

Karina was active on Social Media and was a former ulzzang recruited by an SM casting manager and she became an SM trainee in 2016. In February 2019, Karina appeared in Taemin's "Want" music video and also acted as dancer for the song's promotional stages. On November 1, 2020, she performed alongside EXO’s Kai for the virtual showcase held by Hyundai Motors and appeared with him in 'Beyond DRIVE - The all-new TUCSON', a collaboration virtual showcase between Hyundai Motor Company and SM Entertainment.

### 2020: aespa debut

On October 27, 2020, S.M. Entertainment revealed Karina as the second member of aespa.

### 2021: GOT the beat debut

At the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, Karina opened the award show alongside some 4th generation idols with a collaborated special dance performance.

On December 27th, it was announced that Karina would be debuting in the first unit, GOT the beat, of the female project group, Girls On Top. She went on to debut alongside Winter, BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation, and Wendy and Seulgi of Red Velvet. The members performed their debut digial single, "Step Back", at the SMTOWN Live 2022 : SMCU Express@Kwangya online concert on January 1, 2022 before the single would be officially released on January 3, 2022.

### 2022-2023: GOT the beat Comeback

On December 23, 2022, Sport TV News reported that GOT the beat would be having their first comeback the following year, set to release sometime in January 2023. A couple of hours later, SM Entertainment confirmed the reports.On December 29, 2022 it was announced that GOT the beat would be releasing their first mini album *Stamp On It*, on January 16. The album includes six tracks.

## Trivia

* Special Abilities: Halli Galli, carrying/picking things up with her feet.
* Weakness: Scaredy cat, poor memory, weak scalp.
* Nicknames: Rina, Tomie, Karomi, Qualina, Jim Manbo (Jimin + sleepover), Karina Leader.
* Favorite Words: kiyeowo (cute), ppueng, ueng.
* Favorite Color: blue.
* Favorite Season: spring.
* Favorite Animals: cats that act like dogs, tigers, crocodiles, and sharks.
* Favorite Food: donkatsu (pork cutlet), carbonated drinks, jelly, and butter caramel pringles.
* Favorite Movies: Tangled, Frozen.
* First impression of members:
	+ Giselle: "We were both very shy when we greeted each other..."
	+ Winter: "Woah~, really small~"
	+ Ningning: "At first I thought she was an unnie so I spoke to her with honorifics for three weeks."
* She has the habits of cracking her knuckles and purse her lips.
* In order to relieve stress, she likes to eat good food, go shopping, or retreating to a calm and quiet place to read.
* According to her, her strengths are her quick wits and caring for the people around her. She has also said that her weaknesses are her alleged bad memory and shyness.
* The other members voted her as the most cowardly because she gets easily scared by small sounds.
* She collects lipsticks and loves giving lipsticks as birthday presents.
* She wants to learn how to cook, do makeup, and produce songs.
* She is Catholic, and her name “Karina” came from her baptismal name “Katarina”.
	+ She wears her rosary ring during important schedules.
* She likes green tea and barley tea.
* She does not like Americano because it's too bitter for her.
* She was the second member of aespa to be revealed by SM Entertainment.
* She appeared in Taemin's "Want" music video as a back-up dancer. She also promoted the song alongside with him.
* She was confirmed to be a trainee in October 2020, when the company took legal action against malicious rumors about her.
* Before joining SM Entertainment, Karina trained at the BORN Star Training Center as a Vocalist.
* Karina got casted through a direct message from a SM recruiter on Instagram. At first she thought it was fake until they sent their business card to prove their identity.
* Karina was actively doing covers, including English songs and dance covers. She even made a cover of Jennie's part in Blackpink's "Boombayah".
* She starred in the live virtual showcase for Hyundai's Tucson along with Kai of EXO.
* She has an older sister, with whom she doesn't talk to often, but has a good relationship with.
* She uses the iPhone 11 Pro silver.
* She is the tallest member in both of her groups.
* According to her, she is obsessed with K-Dramas and watches them a lot.
* Her stage name "Karina" was chosen out of several different candidates. Others included 우아/Woo Ah (elegant), Jasmine, 지온/Zeon .
* She was active on SNS, and was cast by a talent agent who sent her a direct message. The page is now inactive.
* She is scared of pigeons but like eating chicken. She also likes snakes. She is scared of fish but likes eating sashimi.
* She likes playing old-fashioned pranks.
* She is observant, and explained things well for Ningning when Ningning was learning Korean.
* The first concert she attended was Girls Generation, and she attended it when she was already an SM Entertainment trainee.
* She is bad at PUBG.
* Both Karina and Giselle can't ride on rollercoasters due to their fear of them.
* During the production of Black Mamba, a designer called her "Chae Ri Na", who is a former member of a co-ed group called "Roo'ra."
* She is a fan of SM Entertainment Idols, and knows every artist's birthday. She even met Shindong, Heechul and Choi Sooyoung before she became a trainee.
* She has very sensitive hearing, especially around Ningning and Winter who tend to be loud talkers.
* According to her, if she was not a music artist she would be a flight attendant. (14)
* She enjoys spending time in a quiet and calm environment and reading.
* She shares a room with Ningning, while Giselle and Winter each have their own rooms.
* She bleached her hair for the first time in My World promotions, but due to scalp and hair damage, she claims that she won't dye her hair blonde ever again.
* She has reached the highest possible level on Gardenscapes: Level 9926, which made her no.1 on the Korean player chart.

## Videos

Aespa 에스파 ‘MY, KARINA’aespa - MY, KARINAAespa 에스파 - SYNK, KARINA

## References

1. ↑  @MnetM2 "168cm tall!" YouTube 2023.11.17
2. ↑ https://kpopsingers.com/karina-aespa-profile-bio-facts/
3. ↑ Soompi: MAMA 2021 Special Dance Performance
4. ↑ Debut Digital Single: Step Back
5. ↑ @GirlsOnTop\_SM on Twitter: GOT the beat
6. ↑ (KR) Sport TV News: 갓 더 비트, 내년 1월 컴백…1년 만에 신곡 발표
7. ↑ (KR) Naver: SM "갓 더 비트, 1월 컴백 목표로 준비 중"
8. ↑ (KR) Daum: 보아→윈터 GOT the beat 컴백, 1월 16일 첫 미니앨범 발매
9. ↑ MY time, aespa! 1:24
10. ↑ MY time, aespa! 2:17
11. ↑ MY time, aespa! 2:38
12. ↑ MY time, aespa! 2:54
13. ↑ MY time, aespa! 3:11
14. ↑ MY time, aespa! 1:48
15. ↑ Decoding aespa
16. ↑ Forever Fairies #3 2:35
17. ↑ Translation from Kim Shin Young’s Noon Song Of Hope Radio
18. ↑ Knowing Bros #303