From the Song-Song couple to Sulli: the biggest K-pop and Korean entertainment stories of 2019 – in review

Dec 18 , 2019

Singer-turned-actress Sulli, pictured here live-streaming a drinking party, was found dead at her home in October. Photo: Instagram

Every month of the year, we serve you a round-up of all the hottest K-pop and K-drama news that you need to know – and looking back, it has been a crazy ride in 2019, to say the least. As we close the 2019 chapter this month, we take a walk down memory lane to remember the biggest stories that have exploded over the Korean entertainment landscape.

The end of Song-Song couple

Song-Song Couple announced their split in June – just 20 weeks after tying the knot. Photo: Instagram

K-drama fans were in shock when top stars Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo filed for divorce earlier this year. In addition to now-ex-husband Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo counts Hyun Bin and Lee Byung-hun among her former lovers, both Korean actors who starred with the actress in dramas.

Here we retrace the messy end of K-drama’s iconic power-couple:

Why K-drama's Song-Song couple are getting a divorce

The sad death of Sulli

Singer-turned-actress Sulli live-streamed a drinking party on Instagram. Photo: Instagram

Back in April, the late K-pop singer-turned-actress Sulli live-streamed her drinking party and then expressed that she was unhappy with personal questions from some of 14,000 followers watching her in restaurant with friends.

She was later found dead at her home on October 14, prompting outpourings of grief and recriminations from the Korean entertainment community.

Here we pay tribute to a star cut down in her prime:

How Sulli broke K-pop’s clean-cut conventions

A sneak peak into Song Hye-kyo’s wardrobe

Song Hye Kyo offered a glimpse inside her personal wardrobe – it wasn’t small. Photo: Handout

STYLE managed to peek behind the curtains at the K-drama star’s shoot with Parisian jewellery maison Chaumet, in which Song goes through her closet of dresses (which look remarkably similar) in search of what to wear with her Joséphine Aigrette stackable rings, while talking about jewellery, art, media exposure and how beauty might come naturally, but grace does not. Missed the clip? Catch up here:

Did Song Hye-kyo pull off grace and character in her new video?

The rise of ‘K Tours’

It’s possible to visit the Minsok Korean Folk Village, where My Love From Another Star filmed, on a ‘K-Tour’. Photo: Handout

Fans can now relive all the action on the film sets of their favourite Korean soaps – here we show you the five top locations that have doubled as K-drama sets:

‘K-Tours’: Is this what K-drama fans have been waiting for?

Celebrating Song Joong-ki

Song Joong-ki reached a wider audience starring in the hit Korean drama series ‘Descendants of the Sun’. Photo: Blossom Entertainment

We took time out to look back on Korean heartthrob Song Joong-ki’s career – read on to find out which we think are his greatest roles so far:

4 of Song Joong-ki’s greatest screen roles

Claudia Kim’s surprise marriage

Crossover Korean actress Claudia Kim recently got married. Photo: Handout

The beautiful actress, best known for her role in the 2018 film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Avengers: Age of Ultron, just tied the knot with WeWork Korea boss Cha Min-geun. Here we look back at the moment the news suddenly broke:

Avengers star Claudia Kim is getting married

Big Bang’s bad year for Seungri

Seungri, a member of the K-pop boy group Big Bang, arrives for questioning over criminal allegations at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul. Photo: AFP

K-pop star and former Big bang member Seungri has definitely had a year full of scandals …

Fans want K-pop Big Bang star Seungri kicked out over sex allegations

Song Joong-ki’s famous wedding band rumours

Happier times: South Korean celebrities Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo arrive at 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards in Seoul, in June this year, shortly before announcing news of their split. Photo: Yonhap via Reuters

Before the news of their divorce broke, Song Joong-ki of the famous Song-Song couple was spotted wearing his wedding band again after a period of its notable absence. The glamorous couple announced their split in June, only 20 months after their wedding. Remember this?

Will sightings of Song Joong-ki’s wedding ring silence divorce gossip?

Tell us, which story did you find the most shocking?

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South Korean celebrities

From Song-Song couple’s surprise divorce and Claudia Kim’s marriage to Big Bang star Seungri’s bad, bad year and Sulli’s sad, sudden death – these were STYLE’s biggest stories about events that rocked the Korean entertainment world in 2019