This page lists “TMI” of Karina from aespa, a 4-member girl group. TMI originally stands for “Too Much Information.” However, in Korean popular culture, the term has evolved to mean “interesting personal details/trivia.”

Not sure what “TMI” means in K-Pop? Click here.
Read more about Karina’s official stats and positions within the team here.

PREFERENCES & TASTES

Food

  • Karina likes pineapples on pizza and mint-chocolate flavor.
  • Some of Karina’s favorite foods are Tonkatsu (pork cutlet), fizzy drinks, and jelly.
  • Karina prefers watery cold noodles to spicy cold noodles.
  • Karina likes to drink “Grapefruit Honey Black Tea” from Starbucks.
  • Karina loves most foods but hates the following – raw eggplant, radishes in fish soup, coconut water, and ginger.
  • Karina has said that she’s a big eater and could finish a whole pizza on her own. She has clarified that after eating so much, she also works out a lot afterward.
  • Karina prefers shu cream-filled carp bread to red bean paste-filled carp bread.
  • Her go-to bubble tea order is a mango yogurt flavor with aloe or white pearls.
  • Like Ningning, Karina likes to have a proper meal rather than snacking.

Hobbies

  • In 2022, Karina has completed all levels of the mobile game Gardenscapes.
  • Karina loves to exercise, and her favorite sports are swimming and taekwondo. She also learned ballet and basketball when she was younger.
  • Karina is a huge fan of the Crayon Sin-Chan franchise, often doing Sin-chan’s voice on variety shows. Her favorite character is Boo.
    • Aside from Crayon Sin-Chan, Karina has also watched many Japanese anime, including Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Spy Family, Chainsaw Man, Oshi no Ko, Haikyu!! and many more.

Likes & Dislikes

  • Karina chose cats when asked to pick between cats and dogs.
    • Karina has said that if she ever owns a cat in the future, she wants to name it “Goongdaengi” (meaning “butt” in Korean).
  • Karina likes dinosaurs, crocodiles, and sharks.
  • Karina’s favorite Christmas song is “White Christmas” by Michael Buble.
  • Karina’s favorite colors are blue and black.
  • Karina’s favorite Pokémon are Chikorita and Snorlax.
  • Karina loves flowers and has said she wants to open a flower shop. Her favorite flowers are roses and Jacob’s ladder, her birth flower.
  • Karina is not scared of insects or snakes, but she is scared of birds.
  • When visiting other countries, Karina prefers an activity-filled tour of the landmarks, rather than staying and resting in a hotel.
  • Karina doesn’t like to watch scary movies.
  • Karina has mentioned two K-Dramas that left an impression on her in an interview – Our Beloved Summer and ANNA.

OTHER TRIVIA

  • Karina has been a fan of many female K-Pop artists before debut, including Girls’ Generation, IU, f(x), and more.
    • She has cited Taeyeon, IU, and Kehlani as her musical role models, Taemin as her performance role model, and Kendall Jenner as her visual role model.
  • Karina is the only member of the team who goes to bed early at night, between 9-10 pm.
    • Karina has said that she used to suffer from sleeplessness, but breathing exercises have helped.
    • She has also said that putting vaseline on her lips every night before she goes to bed has become a habit.
  • When she was in the third grade, she has met Shindong from Super Junior and has taken a photo with him, later uploading it on her social media saying how it feels surreal to take a photo with a celebrity for the first time.
  • Karina is the only member with an MBTI “E” type among aespa members.
  • Karina is very close with her older sister and says that her sister is the nicest person she knows.
  • Karina’s episode on No Prepare (차린건 쥐뿔도 없지만) was the number 1 most popular video on YouTube in Korea in 2023.
  • Karina is close to Chaehyun from Kep1er, who used to be a trainee at SM Entertainment.

Karina and Chaehyun from Kep1er

KARINA’S NICKNAMES

Most of the nicknames on this page have originated from Korean media or conversations held in Korean among members.

ENG
(translated)		 KOR
(original)		 MEANING
Quail Egg 메추리알 In Korea, smaller faces are considered desirable, and smaller faces are called “egg-like.” Karina, with her extra-small face, is called a “quail egg,” even smaller than a regular egg.
Tomie 토미에 Karina resembles a character from Ito Junji’s popular manga, Tomie Series.
Jimmanbo 짐만보 Karina loves to sleep, much like Snorlax from Pokémon, her favorite character. In Korean, Snorlax is Jammanbo. Jimmanbo (Jimin + Jammanbo)
More AI than AI AI보다 더 AI Karina has been called “more AI than AI” for her unrealistic visuals. This nickname also befits the AI/cyberpunk concept of aespa.
God 신 In the video “MY KARINA” where ae-Karina appears,there’s a line that went viral and later became a meme: “Karina is a god.” (카리나는 신이에요) It’s often used to compliment Karina, and later other K-Pop idols when their performance is especially flawless.
stupid cheese cat 바보치즈냥 Karina has first tried blonde hair for the promotion of “Spicy,”and her cute appearances during this time has led to a Korean fan calling her “stupid cheese cat”.
Karina herself has said “I’m stupid cheese cat” in an instagram live afterwards.
Yoo Cherry 유체리 Karina blushes quite easily when she’s flustered, and people have called her face “cherry-like.” Yoo is Karina’s last name (Yoo Jimin).
Kar Leader 카리더 As the official leader of aespa, Karina is called “Kar Leader” by fans and members.
Kuromi / Karomi 쿠로미/카로미 Karina resembles a Sanrio character called Kuromi.
Yoo Sin-chan 유짱구 Karina is very playful and acts like a little kid– much like Sin-chan from Crayon Sin-chan, one of her favorite anime.