Fact Check: Did Stylists Try To “Whitewash” aespa’s Winter With Makeup On Her Arms?

aespa recently gained attention for their appearance at the MLB Seoul Series. The girls put up a stunning performance medley of their hit songs.

The girls gained attention for their suddenly pale skin tone. While they look nothing out of the ordinary in the photo above, their performance video had them looking almost as pale as paper.

240320 MLB 개막전 Next Level #윈터 cut pic.twitter.com/FAhrK2MtlD

— 취향의 윈터 (@nano_winter) March 20, 2024

Winter, in particular, was singled out for her extremely fair complexion.

Instantly, international netizens began claiming that the girls had undergone whitening procedures.

As they felt like Winter’s legs did not match her upper body, they claimed that she was given body makeup by her stylists.

They claim that your legs should originally be lighter than your upper body due to less sun exposure. In Winter’s case, it was the opposite.

Did Winter really cake on the makeup? In other photos, we can see that her legs are the same shade as the rest of the body. With the different pose, her leg was more exposed to the stage lights, making them look truer to its real shade.

You can see how her legs are different shades at different parts of the choreography.

Another great example can be seen below. Thanks to the different lighting exposure, this celebrity’s legs look vastly different from each other.

When exposed to stage lights or camera flashes, idols often appear paler and more blue-tinted than usual. On the other hand, the body part less exposed to the light source will look darker in comparison.

International netizens have been known to make hasty conclusions when it comes to skin tone. This is in part due to the inherent racism and colorism that plagues South Korea. Contrary to popular belief, there are many naturally pale Koreans and celebrities, such as TWICE‘s Dahyun. Many celebrities also go back to their original pale shade in adulthood with proper suncare. Teens and children are more susceptible to tanning and sun exposure in general.