How Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha star Kim Seon-ho and other South Korean celebrities are cancelling cancel culture, one scandal at a time

The career of the 2 Days & 1 Night star looked to be over when an anonymous online post claimed he had dropped his girlfriend after demanding she abort their baby. Fans and sponsors abandoned him, and film work dried up

Yet after similarly anonymous sources put his side of the story across, his career came back to life – in what critics say is a cautionary tale of the excesses of cancel culture

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Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-a in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:45am, 4 Nov 2021Updated: 7:50pm, 4 Nov 2021

Just a few weeks ago, Kim Seon-ho seemed to be the most popular man in South Korea.

Not only was the actor, 35, starring in the most popular drama on Korean television, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, he also had a leading role in one of the most-watched reality-variety shows, 2 Days & 1 Night. That was until a former girlfriend posted on an internet chat room that the actor had broken up with her after pressuring her into having an abortion.

Suddenly, Kim’s star vanished into the ether. He was dropped from 2 Days & 1 Night and dumped unceremoniously from roles in two hotly anticipated films – the romantic comedy 2 O’Clock Date, in which he was to star alongside Girls Generation singer Yoona, and Dog Days with actress Yoon Yeo-jung. His role in another film, Sad Tropical, was also brought into question.

Meanwhile, the media conspicuously steered clear of any farewell interviews for Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, despite the series having raked in more than 3.2 million views.

Kim’s cancellation was as unforgiving as it was swift. Not only did his on-screen roles all but disappear, the various brands that had once been so keen to be associated with him also began to desert him. Domino’s Pizza scrubbed its social media of his photos and videos, as did Canon and the mask brand MIIMA.

For observers of South Korea’s entertainment industry, the scenario seemed all too familiar. In an internet-obsessed, fast-paced and collective society where information can spread across the country in a matter of seconds, it has become a running joke that even the most brightly shining star can be brought crashing to earth in the time it takes to type out an anonymous accusation on social media.