The aespa multiverse — if you’re a diehard aespa fan, you probably know at least a little about the storyline being portrayed in the group’s songs and YouTube videos. However, if you, like many people, are getting lost trying to dive into the aespa multiverse, check out this quick intro guide with resources to learn more about the wider SM Culture Universe (SMCU).

So, what is the aespa multiverse? To put it simply, aespa is a K-pop group, and the aespa multiverse is a fictional storyline wherein the members are all characters. Aespa’s four group members in real life, Karina, Giselle, NingNing, and Winter, are also characters in this storyline, alongside their virtual counterparts æ-Karina, æ-Giselle, æ-NingNing, and æ-Winter. In the multiverse, the æs are digital representations of each of the members, created from information about them online. Through the K-pop group’s music and videos, audiences learn more about the story unraveling in the aespa multiverse.

Episode one of aespa's storyline in the SMCU is titled "Black Mamba." SM dropped this YouTube video on May 14th, 2021, and it’s probably the best place for new fans to start if they want to learn about the story. The video introduces you to the members’ personalities, how they interact with their æs, and the futuristic, high-tech world their story takes place in. It also shows glimpses of SYNKholes (think a cyberpunk version of blackholes) plaguing a city and the story’s main villain figure so far, Black Mamba.

Curious why SYNKhole is spelled like that? It’s all related to SYNK, the digital connection that links humans to their æs. Much like you would sync wireless earbuds to your phone, SYNK connects the human aespa members to their digital counterparts.

But what about KWANGYA and NAEVIS? If you’ve listened to any of aespa’s music, you’ve probably heard these two terms. As Teen Vogue explained in an amazingly thorough article, KWANGYA is "an intermediary realm between the REAL WORLD and the virtual world." Meanwhile, NAEVIS is a navigation æ that helps aespa's æs navigate dimensions. As the aespa multiverse’s story unravels across their songs and videos, aespa and their æs will likely be braving adventures in the KWANGYA as they fight Black Mamba.

If your head is spinning from all this information, don’t worry. The more you explore aespa’s content, the easier it will be to understand the story. For those of you curious to learn more, try starting with a deep dive into aespa’s YouTube channel. 

The videos will help immerse you in this fascinating multimedia story. If you’re interested in getting into the details of the aespa multiverse, you can also check out this helpful guide put together by Teen Vogue. You can also learn more about the wider SMCU in this NME article.