aespa members Winter and Karina shared amusing behind-the-scenes stories about their journey to SM Entertainment, their cooking lessons, and their current dorm life during their recent appearance on JTBC’s Please Take Care of My Refrigerator (which has been airing since 2014).
During the July 5 broadcast, Winter was asked if there was a chef on the show she considered her mentor. Pretending to think for a moment, she jokingly replied, “Was there one?” before revealing it was actually Chef Kwon Sung Jun.
Winter shared that she had learned to make pasta, lasagna, and tiramisu from him. “He told me he’d send me some pistachio cream, but he never did,” she playfully complained. Kwon Sung Jun defended himself, saying, “How could I send it when I don’t even know your address?” The cast immediately teased him, with Park Eun Young and Kim Poong pointing out, “You could’ve just sent it to her company!”
Winter then added another playful revelation: “Actually, I wasn’t his number one student.” When someone mentioned that legendary esports player Faker was Kwon Sung Jun’s top disciple, Karina jokingly told Winter, “You should just stay in second place. That sounds about right.”
Winter laughed and declared that she would look for a new culinary mentor instead, naming Choi Hyun Seok and Sam Kim as potential candidates. Feeling left out, chef Kim Poong humorously protested, “You just skipped right over me!” drawing laughter from everyone in the studio.
The conversation later shifted to the pair’s signature “SM look.” Karina insisted that Winter perfectly embodies the classic SM Entertainment visual, pointing to her fair complexion and comparing her to iconic stars like Seo Hyun Jin and Taeyeon.
Winter, however, disagreed. “I think Karina is the real SM face,” she explained. “I actually failed SM’s auditions about three times. I kept auditioning until I finally got in. But unnie (Karina) received a direct message from SM first.” She then summed up the difference with a memorable comparison: “She’s the type that SM chose, while I’m the type who chose SM.” The witty remark drew big laughs from the studio.
Winter also joked that some of the chefs on the show looked like they could pass for SM artists. She picked Son Jong Won and Jung Ho Young as having “SM visuals.” Explaining her choice of Jung Ho Young, she said he has the kind of charming appearance that naturally attracts dedicated “stan” fans within an idol group, earning another round of laughter.
Winter and Karina also surprised viewers by bringing two separate refrigerators onto the set. When asked if they were living apart, Winter clarified, “We’re not living separately. We used to be split into two dorms with two members each, but recently we combined into one big dorm.” She continued, “Since each group had a refrigerator at our previous places, we just ended up bringing both of them with us.”
The revelation offered fans a sweet glimpse into aespa’s updated living arrangements while showcasing the members’ easygoing chemistry and playful banter throughout the episode.
