We Need To Talk About You and AE
By. Geonna Smith
the Lore of Lore
In today’s age, there are plenty of kpop groups with lore. Many of them come from groups under SM entertainment. If you're not familiar with lore, sit down, you're in for a ride. Lore is “something that is learned via traditional knowledge or belief” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. In this case, kpop groups are assigned lore by their entertainment companies and typically, the lore is assigned way before the group is even formed. We have horror lore, romance lore, action lore, historic lore, futuristic lore, you name it. For example, EXO, an SM group, has lore based on the members deriving from another planet but they’re also superheroes and they fight off evil to protect all life forms, all of which take place in SM’s metaverse named KWANGYA.
This whole “lore” thing is a fun way for a fandom to be formed and follow along with the group and what goes on in their music videos. Lots of activities can also be created based on it as well as events or games. Think of kpop lore as a big inside joke, except it's not a joke and it's just a giant fictional story in which music is based on. So far the most consistent lore we've witnessed in kpop is from the group, Aespa or 에스파.
Who exacly is aespa?
Aespa is a four member girl group under the company SM Entertainment. Members Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning come together and provide amazing vocals, performance and skills on the stage and in the world of Kwangya. Karina, the eldest, manages to check off many positions such as: leader, main dancer, lead rapper, sub vocalist, visual, face of the group and center. Giselle, the second eldest, takes the role of main rapper and sub vocalist. The second youngest, Winter, showcases as a main vocalist, lead dancer and visual. Lastly, the maknae, or in other words, the youngest, NingNing is the main vocalist. Karina, Winter and Giselle were all born in South Korea, while Ningning is a Chinese native. Giselle is half-Korean and half-Japanese and usually represents the group in Japanese settings as she spent a lot of time in an international school residing in Tokyo.
These talented individuals debuted on November 17th of 2020 with the song “Black Mamba”. Black Mamba starts with a thick bass and transitions into 90 BPM electropop with plenty of synth pads and hints of EDM. All while this is amazing, the question arises as to who they are talking about. Terms such as: synk out, flat, MY, Kwangya, Nævis, and a few more are frequently mentioned in their music. If the music video never appears on your screen and you have no knowledge of the Korean language, it could all be a bit confusing.
INto KWANGYA
Aespa’s lore consists of avatars, giant evil snakes, futuristic themes and some lady named Nævis, whom we’ll get into later. The music video shows the girls in the train car with different styles every other scene then switching back to dancing. In between we witness a recurring theme of a black snake, bright colors, social media symbols and animated individuals. Eventually, that same train car is vandalized with a black substance towards the end of the video. But who did it? Well, right before the chorus kicks up a second time, Karina, the leader, is given a close up. Karina’s eyes turn black and it zooms into a scene of a woman standing behind her with her hands on Karina’s shoulders as she sits down keeping eye contact with the viewer. The intriguing part of this all is that the hands are scaly, black, decked in jewelry and have long nails. The woman wears a headpiece while Aespa’s leader sits in front of her, wearing a crown. Both are wearing black and appear to be some sort of royalty but Karina seems to be the only one who is under some sort of control. The leader’s body language gives off a vibe that she needs help but cannot scream for such.
This woman behind her is Black Mamba. Black Mamba is an evil force within the Kwangya universe, in which Aespa are able to connect through a process called “Synk”. In Kwangya, there are individuals just like the members called “AE”. In this universe, the following exists: “ae-Karina”, “ae-Giselle”, “ae-Winter”, “ae-Ningning”, “Nævis”, “Black Mamba”, “MYs”. These “ae’s” are essentially the virtual version of our Aespa girls.
They live in the “FLAT” and are helped by Nævis, who is also an AI. Nævis helps the ae-versions of themselves to be seen by the real world version. They all are taunted by Black Mamba who despises humans which causes Nævis to help out when the girls start to fight against her. Unfortunately, Nævis sacrifices herself. This was done in order to save the girls as well as humanity. Eventually, the girls are brought back to the real world since their ae-versions are now living in peace back in the FLAT. Aespa will have a comeback coming soon on November 10th which we can only assume will contain more lore to snatch us right back into Kwangya with them. Will Black Mamba make a return? Are we expecting something worse than Black Mamba this time? Be sure to check out SMTOWN’s official youtube page to watch past videos and new updates regarding their ae world.
Photos From
Aespa/SM Entertainment