Girls on Top members Karina and BoA receive flak after allegedly making colorist comments about Hyoyeon

South Korea’s, and South Asia’s, colorist tendencies are once again the subject of debate, after K-pop idols BoA and aespa’s Karina discuss fellow idols Hyoyeon’s “tanned skin.” While the comments may appear innocuous, the internet is divided, with one section defending the duo and the other calling them colorists.

All three idols are part of SM Entertainment’s supergroup Girls on Top, which is made up of seven members, including Taeyeon, Seulgi and Wendy of Red Velvet, and Karina and Winter of aespa. The group recently got together for a YouTube vlog titled Girls on Top: Let's get to the TOP, posted on the supergroup’s official channel on February 9.

Within two days, a certain snippet from the vlog went viral on social media, with many people expressing offense.

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BoA's first impression of Hyoyeon was about her tanned skin

In the short vlog, the members discussed their initial impressions of the members. They also shared their experiences so far with Girls on Top.

It was during this conversation that the SNSD member, Hyoyeon, asked BoA what she thought when they saw each other for the first time.

Hyoyeon asked,

"First impression of (me) in five words?"

To this, BoA stated that it was her skin color that stood out.

"Me, I have one. She is very tanned."

Laughing at the response, Hyoyeon responded,

"Right, why was I so tan?"

The other members also laughed at this playful exchange between the two members. While the incident may not appear explicitly offensive, many people on Twitter thought otherwise. The person who uploaded the shortened clip captioned it,

"Why do kpop idols always have to make colorist jokes… also why is Karina laughing so hard..."

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aespa member Karina recieved most flak from netizens

While all the members laughed at BoA’s answer, aespa’s Karina was visibly laughing harder and longer than the others, which did not go down well with many.

Ever since the clip was posted, several have come forward with their opinions. While some defended the Girls on Top members, others were much more critical. Colorism in South Korea and other Asian countries is a rampant problem, but is rarely discussed. It upset many that globally popular idols displayed such behavior.

Many netizens took to social media to educate the idols that there is nothing wrong or funny about tanned or dark skin. Karina and her laughter were the main focus of the criticism.

A certain section of people defended Hyoyeon and BoA, stating that the duo have been friends for almost a decade, and the exchange was nothing more than friendly banter between friends. Their defense, however, was attacked by others, who stated that being friends does not justify colorist remarks.

Fans of Girls on Top and of the individual idols have asked for an official apology from BoA and Karina. SM Entertainment has not addressed the controversy, yet.