Yu Ji-min (Korean: 유지민; born April 11, 2000), known professionally as Karina, is a South Korean singer and rapper. She is the leader of the South Korean girl group Aespa, formed by SM Entertainment on November 17, 2020. She is also a member of the supergroup Got the Beat, which debuted on January 3, 2022.
In 2024, Karina achieved her first top-ten song as a solo artist on the Circle Digital Chart, as well as her first-ever solo music show award from Show! Music Core, with "Up" from Aespa's digital single album Synk: Parallel Line.
Early life and education
Karina was born and raised in Suwon, South Korea, in a family consisting of her parents and an older sister. She attended Hansol High School, located in Bundang, until she was discovered by an SM Entertainment representative through social media and trained for 4 years before her debut. She then dropped out to focus on training and later obtained a GED equivalent certificate.
Karina is Catholic and stated that her baptismal name is Katarina, which is the inspiration for her stage name.
Career
Pre-debut
During her time as a trainee, Karina appeared in labelmate Taemin's music video for the song "Want" in February 2019, and performed with him on several music programs in the following weeks. Karina also appeared alongside labelmate Kai for Hyundai and SM's virtual showcase, The All-New Tucson, Beyond Drive.
2020–present: Debut with Aespa, Got the Beat and solo ventures
On October 27, 2020, SM revealed Karina as the second member of Aespa. She debuted as the leader of the group on November 17, 2020, with the digital single "Black Mamba".
From October 30 to mid-December 2021, Karina hosted the show Travel Diary Soul: Seoul alongside David Lee McInnis as part of a tourist promotion by Seoul Metropolitan Government. The programme ran for 4 episodes and showcased tourist hotspots in the city. It was produced jointly with History Channel and aired to 39.5 million households in 19 countries. On December 17, she was announced as a member of SM's supergroup Got the Beat alongside bandmate Winter and other female labelmates such as BoA, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon and Hyoyeon, and Red Velvet's Seulgi and Wendy.
On May 11, 2023, MBC announced that Karina would be the special host of the May 13th episode of Show! Music Core alongside Lee Min-hyuk and Jungwoo. On September 22, Karina released the single "Sad Waltz" for the Netflix TV series Song of the Bandits. On November 30, it was announced that Karina will take part in the Netflix unscripted show Agents of Mystery. Filming for the show started in January 2024, with the first episode scheduled for release on June 18.
In May 2024, Karina appeared in KBS's variety music programme Synchro U as a cast member, where she won the Rookie Award – Show and Variety Category at the 2024 KBS Entertainment Awards. It was also confirmed on the same day that Karina will be a special DJ of the MBC FM4U's radio show Lee Seok-hoon's Brunch Cafe on April 18 and 19.
Public image and influence
Karina was introduced by SM as a member with multiple talents from dance, vocal and rap ahead of her debut. Following her debut introduction video, the phrase "Karina is a God" has been adopted by fans and the press noted by her public image and role in her group. Additionally, magazines such as Paper called her a "dynamic dancer, an attentive leader, and a sultry rapper to her group", which, coupled with her increasing visibility in various sectors, helped solidify her status as a recognisable figure among South Korea's MZ population.
In 2021, Karina topped South Korea's brand reputation for K-pop artists and influencers for two consecutive months. She also topped Star News' female idol category for 8 weeks. In the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking", Karina placed first in both the June and July issue and fourth on the October issue. She was also featured on Seoul Metropolitan Government's "Tour Promotion Program" that "helps tourists to appreciate the panoramic view of the entire city and the historic Seoul City Wall as well as pottery making in Mullae-dong".
Other activities
Endorsements
Karina has served as the ambassador of various companies, with her first collaboration in April 2022, where she was selected as the goodwill ambassador for Maeil Business Newspaper's "Clean Campaign". Her endorsements expanded in 2023, starting in November, when Lotte Chilsung selected her as model for their "Kloud Krush" alcohol beverage. In December, Vogue Korea announced that she became the new face of YSL Beauty's "Rouge Pur Couture" lipstick line.
After suffering a 13.1% fall in sales between the 2023 to 2024 financial year due to competition with other brands, Converse Korea appointed Karina as their new ambassador in January 2024 and worked alongside her for the brand's 2024 and 2025 campaigns. That following April, she was selected as the model of Vita 500 Zero, a popular Vitamin C drink brand in Korea, with the company's hopes of expanding their market to younger consumers. The announcement was released following a previous social media post teasing the brand's new model. The collaboration was regarded as a success, with the promotional video becoming the top trending video in YouTube Korea upon its release.
In August, Karina was selected as the ambassador and model of the fashion e-commerce company Musinsa's Musinsa Beauty and additionally appointed as the global brand ambassador of the Italian luxury fashion house Prada after previously attending their men's fall 2024 show in January. She subsequently appeared in the brand's 2024 Holiday Campaign alongside other ambassadors. In September, she was selected as the muse of the Danish outdoor brand Nordisk.
In December, she was selected by Shinsegae to lead their "Hello, New Santa" Christmas campaign. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported that department store sales from January to October in 2024 had fallen by ₩400 billion (US$349.67 million), which prompted Shinsegae Department Store to shoot their end-of-year promotional video with Karina. The campaign was a 10 minute promotional film for the department store and was displayed in Shinsegae Square. The campaign was viewed positively and attracted both domestic and international customers, with Shinsegae's Department Store app seeing an increase of 47.1% in new customers in the 20s to 30s age group during the campaign period.
In January 2025, the coffeehouse chain Pascucci, operated by SPC Group, appointed Karina as their first celebrity model since the franchise was introduced to the country in 2002, as she is considered a highly recognisable face in the younger market. In February, Karina was announced as the new model for Sprite. A new campaign and commercial film were also announced, with an official from The Coca-Cola Company saying: "I expect to be able to achieve a greater synergy effect with Karina. We plan to convey the intense freshness presented by the brand through Karina's advertising video, which will be released soon."
Philanthropy
In March 2025, Karina donated ₩100 million (US$87,416.41) through the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to help with recovery efforts from wildfires that have occurred in the Ulsan, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam regions.
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
Soundtrack appearances
Other charted songs
Composition credits
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.
Videography
Music videos
Music video appearances
Filmography
Television shows
Web shows
Hosting
Radio shows
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
