aespa’s Winter Suffers Scathing Backlash For Hiding “Couple Tattoo” With BTS’s Jungkook

The ongoing spotlight on aespa Winter’s alleged “couple tattoo” with BTS’s Jungkook reached new heights with Korean netizens and media today after her ink was nowhere to be seen.

aespa attended the 2025 Melon Music Awards on December 20, taking home major awards like “Global Artist” and “Stage of the Year.” But while fans celebrated their wins, many were fixated on Winter’s body art.

After netizens claimed that the star’s red carpet look made them even more curious about her tattoo, even the Korean media weighed in.

Shortly after the red carpet event, news outlet MHN published a photo of the aespa singer captioned, “aespa Winter’s ‘Carefully Covered Up Tattoo’.” In the image, the spot on the back of Winter’s arm where the tattoo usually sits appeared completely blank, presumably concealed with makeup or a skin-colored bandage.

The coverage comes after both idols faced criticism for reportedly attempting to hide their tattoos in recent weeks. During aespa’s performance at the KBS Song Festival on December 19, Winter wore a long white glove on her right arm that kept the tattoo covered throughout the show.

aespa’s Winter Apparent Response To Couple Tattoo Accusations Earns Mixed Reactions

Jungkook also came under fire for seemingly concealing the tattoo in the latest episodes of Are You Sure?! while his other arm was clearly visible.

BTS’s Jungkook Hit With Barrage Of Criticism After Updated Look At Tattoo Sleeve

The MHN photo quickly went viral on community platform theqoo, racking up 50,000 views and hundreds of comments in an hour. While some netizens defended Winter, pointing out that she seems to receive criticism whether the tattoo is covered or not, others questioned why she would suddenly conceal the tattoo now.

• “For a while, everyone’s probably just going to stare at her arm lol. She got a tattoo on her upper arm, and she must have enjoyed the attention. That’s why she did it there, right?”
• “She got the tattoo to let people know she’s Jungkook’s girlfriend, but now that everyone in the world knows, she’s achieved her goal. There’s no need to keep showing it and get hate over it.”
• “If she hadn’t made it obvious, she wouldn’t have needed to cover it. But still, at least she’s making the effort to cover it now. That counts for something. Good job 👍”
• “Looks like there’ll be nothing but tattoo talk for a while.”
• “There have been tons of dating rumors with celebrities, and articles linking them every time, but this is the first time I’ve seen a case where they got couple tattoos that are clearly visible, so every time they wear sleeveless clothes it turns into an article lol.”