Karina (South Korean singer)

Yu Ji-min (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.

Early life and education
Karina was born and raised in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, in a family consisting of her parents and an older sister. She attended Hansol High School 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.

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 will 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.

On April 8, 2024, it was confirmed that Karina will appear in KBS 2TV's 싱크로유 (Synchro U), a variety music programme, alongside Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Juck, Lee Yong-jin, Yook Sung-jae, and Hoshi. The pilot episodes will air on May 10 and 18. 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, with the magazine Paper calling her a "dynamic dancer, an attentive leader, and a sultry rapper to her group".

In 2021, Karina topped South Korean'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".

Endorsements
In April 2022, Karina was selected as a goodwill ambassador for Maeil Business Newspaper's "Clean Campaign".

In November 2023, Lotte Chilsung selected Karina as model for their "Kloud Krush" alcohol beverage. In December, Vogue Korea announced Karina as the new face of YSL Beauty's "Rouge Pur Couture" lipstick line.

In January 2024, Converse Korea appointed Karina as their new ambassador. In April, she was selected as model of Vita 500 Zero, a popular Vitamin C drink brand in Korea. The announcement was released on April 11, following a previous social media post teasing the brand's new model on April 9.

Personal life
Karina is a Catholic and stated that her baptismal name is Katarina, which is the inspiration for her stage name.

Composition credits
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.