Karina of the girl group aespa has come under fire for breaking the "no color, no gesture" rule — a strict but unspoken guideline on K-pop idols during election season.

The singer uploaded a picture of herself on Instagram wearing a black jacket with red patterns and the number 2 written on the side, seemingly taken on the streets of Japan. Karina used a red rose emoji without further explanation of the picture.


The post soon went viral on online communities, with users calling her "conservative Karina," "No. 2 voter Karina" and "patriotic Karina" — terms used online to describe conservative voters.

Kim Moon-soo, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate, is represented by the color red and is No. 2 on the ballot.

Soon after, the photo was taken down, but criticism still arose over the singer’s carelessness.

During election season, K-pop idols are advised — if not mandated — to refrain from wearing clothes in the vivid colors associated with political parties: red for the People Power Party, blue for the Democratic Party, yellow and green for the Green Justice Party and so on.

They are also told to avoid making common hand gestures, such as a thumbs-up or peace sign, when posing outside polling stations, as such gestures can be interpreted as references to a candidate or party number.

And not voting isn’t a safe way out — some fans criticize idols for being indifferent to the most sacred duty and right in a democracy if they don’t explicitly show they voted. So when they do go, idols are expected to wear neutral colors, be careful with their hand gestures, and definitely avoid posting anything that could be seen as controversial.

However tiresome the rules may be, they seem to be very real — and idols appear to be aware of them.

On Monday, Kim Tae-rae, a member of boy band ZeroBaseOne, uploaded a picture of himself on a fan community platform showing a "V" gesture and a blue phone, explaining that he did so to "even out" the V.

"I was told that I shouldn't pose a 'V' because of the [election] season," he wrote to fans. "I'll even it out with the color of my phone."

The two-day early voting period for the snap presidential election — open to all eligible voters nationwide — will begin Thursday. Idol groups are also likely to be seen voting and taking pictures afterward.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]