How did Kim Seon-ho survive cancel culture? The Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha actor’s star power returns amid controversy, from his increased Instagram following to lead role in Sad Tropics

Nov 17 , 2021

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’s Kim Seon-ho seems to be making a comeback following a scandal with his allaged ex-girlfriend. Photo: Salt Entertainment

After that alleged abortion scandal with a netizen claiming to be his ex-girlfriend, the Netflix K-drama star’s Instagram follower count increased by over half a million

After Dispatch came to his defence, his fan base showed their support by launching a Change.org petition and even sponsoring a digital billboard for him in Gangnam

Did Kim Seon-ho just survive South Korea’s cancel culture – and live to tell the tale?

After the successful finale of Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, an anonymous netizen claiming to be Kim’s ex-girlfriend wrote that the actor urged her to have an abortion with the promise of marriage. She made the post in an online community in October. But after she terminated the pregnancy, she claimed that Kim “flipped out like a mad man” when she sent him the receipts for the procedure and began to threaten her. The lengthy post also touched on Kim’s overall behaviour, alleging that he was “cold and cruel” in real life, and that he would often badmouth his colleagues.

Kim Seon-ho’s career prospects crumbled after an ex-girlfriend accused him of urging her to have an abortion. Photo: @seonho_kim/Instagram

The post went viral, prompting Kim and his agency, Salt Entertainment, to issue an apology. According to Soompi, the poster responded with a follow-up statement, mentioning that Kim apologised to her and that she had accepted the apology.

But then even more revelations surfaced. Dispatch, a tabloid known for investigating the private lives of Korean celebrities, published conversations between Kim and his ex-girlfriend, who was identified as former weather forecaster Choi Young-ah. The publication then ran a report that disputed Choi’s claims, detailing that Kim took full responsibility even to the extent of putting his career on hold. Kim apparently even cooked seaweed soup for her after the abortion, according to The Straits Times. After Dispatch’s exposé came to light, the online narrative shifted in favour of Kim.

Now that the two sides of the story have been revealed, here’s how Kim’s career is holding up …

His ads were restored

Canon Korea restored ads with Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha star Kim Seon-ho. Photo: @canonkorea/Instagram

Popular brands such as Domino’s Pizza Korea, Canon Korea and Food Bucket were quick to pull Kim’s ads at the height of the controversy, according to NME. However, face mask brand Miima, Canon Korea and e-commerce platform 11Street all restored his ads following the Dispatch report.