Aespa’s Winter Faces Intense Criticism for Concealing “Couple Tattoo” With BTS’s Jungkook
aespa Winter is facing controversy after fans and media noticed her tattoo was completely covered at the 2025 Melon Music Awards.
The issue started when Winter attended the awards on December 20, winning “Global Artist” and “Stage of the Year.” But all eyes were on the mysterious absence of her usual red tattoo on the back of her right arm.
Korean outlet MHN posted a photo headlined, “aespa Winter’s ‘Carefully Covered Up Tattoo’,” showing a blank patch where the couple tattoo, rumored to match BTS’s Jungkook’s, normally sits.
Winter had kept the tattoo hidden before too. At the KBS Song Festival on December 19, she wore a long white glove covering the same spot during aespa’s performance.
At the same time, Jungkook also faced backlash for apparently concealing his tattoo sleeve on the show Are You Sure?! while leaving the other arm visible.
The MHN photo blew up on theqoo, hitting 50,000 views in just an hour and stirring hundreds of comments. Netizens were split. Some defended Winter, saying she catches flak no matter what. Others wondered why she suddenly chose to cover the ink after leaving it visible for so long.
Quotes from netizens on theqoo:
“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.”
Fans and media are now locked on Winter and Jungkook’s tattoo drama. The couple tattoo saga is far from over.
@imwinter/Instagram
MHN
MHN