K-pop and dating: how K-pop stars who date risk upsetting and even losing their sensitive fans

By Dong Sun-hwa

Jin, a former member of the now-defunct K-pop girl group Lovelyz, said recently she would take legal action against those who bombarded her Instagram account with malicious comments. The 26-year-old’s warning came only a day after she apologised for making “controversial” remarks on her YouTube channel about different ways K-pop stars make time for dating amid their tight schedules.

According to Jin, management companies these days do not deter their singers from dating if they are experienced enough to avoid any trouble. She added that they have frequent chances to get to know each other when they film music shows together, mentioning the name of specific programmes where they can easily build rapport.

In fact, Jin talked about dating – a long-standing taboo topic in the conservative K-pop industry – in response to her fans’ questions. Her fans claim she did not drop a bombshell because many other singers have already dished on how they started their romances. But quite a few K-pop fans in Korea disagree, believing she was “thoughtless”. They insist she released unwanted information that could negatively affect other K-pop stars, leaving room for scandal and rumour.

Whether Jin went too far is still being hotly debated online, but one thing is crystal clear: K-pop fans, especially those in Korea, are still very sensitive about their stars’ love lives.

“K-pop followers are like parents or patrons in the sense that they show unwavering support for their singers. But in return, they want their stars to immerse themselves in their career and chase success,” says Lee Gyu-tag, an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University Korea.