K-pop group aespa speaks up for sustainable development at UN high-level forum

MANILA, Philippines – Rising South Korean girl group aespa urged the youth to give importance to sustainable development in a speech delivered at the United Nations’ 2022 High-Level Political Forum at the UN General assembly Hall in New York on Tuesday, July 5. 

The K-pop girl group, known for having avatars as the alter-egos of their four human members, began their speech by relating their unique metaverse concept with a sustainable real world. 

“People are paying more attention to creating the best possible metaverse world. It transcends many boundaries. Reality and virtual reality, time and space, and genres and generations. As the metaverse accelerates, we have to ask the question: Are we working just as hard to create the best possible real world? The metaverse reflects our reality,” member Giselle said. 

Giselle of K-pop group @aespa_official delivers a message during the political forum on sustainable development, part of @UNECOSOC 2022 session on theme "Building back better from #COVID19 while advancing the #2030Agenda"
UN Photo/Manuel Elías pic.twitter.com/Wxyif1FdV8

— United Nations Photo (@UN_Photo) July 5, 2022

She continued, “If our own reality is not sustainable, it would become difficult to sustain the possibilities of the virtual world. Without sustainable ecosystems or equal opportunities for quality living, there will be no real world to be mirrored.”

The group then emphasized that the topic of sustainable development is an urgent matter to discuss, saying that the “next generation must support sustainable development goals in order to protect the world that we live in.” 

“aespa will continue to connect with the generation through music, and we’ll work to represent sustainable goals in reality, hence, within the metaverse,” they ended their speech. 

After the speech, the group played a video of them performing “Next Level,” one of their hit songs. This marks the first time for aespa to deliver a speech at a UN event. 

Composed of Karina, Ningning, Winter, and Giselle, aespa made their debut under SM Entertainment in November 2020. They are known for their songs “Black Mamba,” “Savage,” and “Life’s Too Short.” They are releasing their new album Girls on Friday, July 8. – Rappler.com