aespa were the global speakers at the United Nations' 2022 High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development.

On 5 July, the 'Life's Too Short' hitmakers addressed the UN to deliver a speech about the importance of sustainable development and perform their award-winning hit 'Next Level'. aespa, who have virtual counterparts that exist in the metaverse, discussed the urgency of sustaining and maintaining the "real world" and how there should be continued efforts towards sustainable development just as much as there are efforts to advance the metaverse and virtual 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?’", said Giselle. 

‘Next generation leaders’ aespa deliver a speech at the UN ‘2022 High-Level Political Forum for sustainable development’!https://t.co/gAb8s5bsWt#aespa #에스파 @aespa_official#UnitedNations #UN #HLPF2022 pic.twitter.com/bPKZLsbnc5

— SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) July 6, 2022

“The metaverse reflects reality. 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 topic of sustainable development is urgent, and we believe that the next generation must support sustainable development goals in order to protect the world that we live in," continued Giselle. 

aespa's speech at the conference follows SM Entertainment becoming the first Korean entertainment company to join the United Nations Global Impact. Through this, the K-pop powerhouse promises to make efforts to practice social responsibility across its business activities and corporate model. 

#SM becomes the first Korean entertainment company to join the #UNGC (United Nations Global Compact) for social responsibility!

SM is to make efforts to internalize global norms throughout its business activities and actively fulfill corporate social responsibilities.#SMTOWN pic.twitter.com/X0EcYFJe54

— SMTOWN (@SMTOWNGLOBAL) July 5, 2022

Read aespa's full speech, by Giselle and Karina, here. 

Hello, my name is Giselle, and we are so honored to be here today. Our group, aespa, uniquely moves between reality and virtual reality. We exist here in the real world, and four of our avatar members exist in the virtual world. Together, we are often called the ‘metaverse girl group.’

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 reality. 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 topic of sustainable development is urgent, and we believe 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 next generation through music, and we’ll work to represent sustainable goals in reality, hence, within the metaverse.

Once again, thank you again for having us. We are honored to be here to discuss a topic that is so important for the next generation. And we will now be performing our song ‘Next Level.’ We hope you enjoy it. Thank you.

Listen to aespa's 'Next Level' here.