On 6th August 2023, the Korean entertainment scene was swept away by the breaking news released by the Korean news outlet, Dispatch, that Jisoo of worldwide-famous group BLACKPINK and actor Ahn Bo Hyun (known for his role most recently in the K-Drama, “See You In My 19th Life”) were dating. This news was promptly confirmed by Jisoo and Bo Hyun personally or via their agencies. Both mentioned that they have recently started dating and are getting to know each other bit by bit.
This news created a social media frenzy and started trends all over Twitter (now known as X) and more. Most fans have called this pairing a superior one, as both are talented individuals working in a similar industry and are one of the top idols and actors of today's scene. Following the announcement, fans reacted warmly and provided much love and support to both celebrities. Actor Jung Hae In, a mutual friend of both celebrities and also Jisoo's love interest in the K-Drama, “Snow Drop”, was too surprised by the announcement as he did not know about his friends' newfound relationship.
In addition to the dating news, Dispatch also released photos of the celebrities' dating routine, which included a detailed account of their dates where Ahn Bo Hyun would drive himself to Jisoo's home with takeaway meals for them to share. The actor would also adjust his schedule to fit Jisoo's, as she is often abroad for work, to ensure that they can meet beyond their packed schedules when she is in the country.
While this is not the first time that Korean celebrities have been caught dating, it is one of the rarer times that a publicised relationship has received warm reactions from fans all around the world. Back in June 2014, the K-pop scene was shaken by the news that Baekhyun of boyband EXO and Taeyeon of Girls Generation were dating, as they were caught in the act in a convertible. This came as a shock to angry fangirls as EXO had been on a steady growth in popularity, just two years after their official debut. After the news was leaked and confirmed by their mutual entertainment agency, SM Entertainment, Taeyeon received tons of hate from Baekhyun's and EXO's fans on all forms of social media. SM Entertainment did minimal to protect her, and due to the harsh comments directed at her, she soon fell into a deep depression. Just one year later, both celebrities announced that they are no longer a couple.
While times have changed where fans are more aware of their actions towards celebrities (who are also humans in the age bracket of 20s), this leads to the conversation if fans should have the right to know about their favourite celebrities' personal lives. While it's great that Jisoo and Ahn Bo Hyun's relationship received warm responses, there was also a risk and possibility that Baekhyun and Taeyeon's case could repeat. Just as any normal person does, these celebrities have their jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, their jobs require them to cater to their fans. Some fans may mistake and overstep the boundary between being a fan and a fanatic, leading them to feel entitled to know everything about their idols' personal lives as they can spend up to thousands a year buying albums and merchandise from their favourite K-pop celebrities.
While it's normal to be sad when finding out that your favourite celebrity has found a romantic partner, many fans forget that these idols are human and not an object without emotions. The weight of the malicious comments would also take a toll on the mental health of their idols and have caused many celebrity relationships to break down in the past. To those who went out of their way to say terrible things on the internet, some of them may feel that they have won when the couple breaks up, and they remain delusional that their idols will one day be married to them (which is very unlikely).
Understanding that some idols use various social apps like Weverse, Twitter and Instagram Live these days to be closer to their fans and share their daily lives, should it be normalised that fans deserve to know about their celebrities beyond their professional life? At what point can it consider as overstepping boundaries? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Crystal Chai is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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