Old Photos of aespa's Ningning, Winter Resurface, Sparking Debate Over Appearance

South Korean girl group aespa has once again become a hot topic online due to discussions surrounding their members' appearances. Recently, old photos posted on the group's official social media accounts years ago were rediscovered by netizens. The past looks of members NINGNING (닝닝) and WINTER (윈터), when compared to their current appearances, were deemed significantly different by some users, reigniting speculation about whether they had undergone cosmetic procedures or plastic surgery.

aespa's visuals have frequently been a subject of online discussion in recent years, with Ningning and Winter now at the center of the latest debate.

An old post from aespa's official X (formerly Twitter) account, featuring a photo of the two members attending a Givenchy fashion show in 2021, recently resurfaced. This old post quickly gained renewed attention, with the photo sparking heated discussions across social media platforms.

Upon seeing the old photos, some netizens commented on what they perceived as significant changes in the members' facial features compared to their current looks. Comments included remarks like, “They look completely different now” and “It’s like they have a new face.” Some even went further to speculate whether the two had undergone multiple cosmetic or plastic surgery procedures.

However, these claims are currently based solely on netizens' comparisons of photos, and no individuals involved have confirmed undergoing any specific surgeries or cosmetic treatments.

Beyond questioning appearance changes, many fans argue that simply comparing photos from different periods makes it difficult to definitively determine if there have been actual alterations. They point out that the members' makeup and hairstyles during their debut era differed significantly from their current styles, and natural changes due to aging could also contribute to an altered overall visual.

Some fans further suggested that aespa's debut-era makeup was relatively outdated, particularly the base makeup, hairstyles, and overall color palette, all of which could affect how facial features appeared in photos. Therefore, they contend that one cannot conclude that their appearance has changed solely based on comparing old and recent photos.

One netizen directly stated that upon closer comparison, the facial features themselves don't show significant differences, and the perceived disparity might largely be due to the makeup and hairstyles from that time. Others believe that the makeup style aespa used during their debut phase indeed no longer aligned with mainstream aesthetics by 2021.

Currently, the old photos continue to spark discussion on social media, with netizens divided into two camps regarding the members' appearance changes: one side believes the differences are quite obvious, while the other attributes them primarily to makeup, hair, and natural growth.

Notably, another aespa member, GISELLE (지젤), has also recently drawn attention from some netizens due to perceived changes in her appearance in social media videos, making discussions about aespa members' visuals a continuous focal point on social platforms.