PUBLISHED ONMarch 16, 2024 4:27 AMBySyarifah NadhirahAfter denying rumours yesterday (March 15), South Korean actress Han So-hee has admitted the truth.
Rumours that the 29-year-old was dating actor Ryu Jun-yeol, 37, circulated yesterday after they were spotted in Hawaii together.
While Jun-yeol's agency C-JeS Studios neither confirmed nor denied the rumours, So-hee's agency 9ato said that they are "not in a romantic relationship".
According to both parties, the two stars were on a personal vacation with friends.
After the news broke, actress and Girls' Day member Hyeri, 29, whom Jun-yeol dated for seven years and broke up with last year, then posted a now-deleted cryptic Instagram Story: "This is interesting."
Netizens then started accusing So-hee of being the third party between Jun-yeol and Hye-ri, and brought up photos from So-hee's Instagram where she visited Jun-yeol's photo exhibition in November last year.
So-hee then took to her Instagram Story to state that she doesn't "meddle in other people's relationships".
"I don't like people who have a partner, nor do I give them space, interest, or establish a relationship in the guise of friendship... I like transit dating programmes, but they're not a part of my life. I find it interesting too," she said, referring to the dating show Transit Love where ex-lovers reunite while forming new relationships with others.
The post has since been deleted.
On Saturday morning, So-hee took to her personal Naver blog to release a statement admitting to dating Jun-yeol.
She wrote: "Hello everyone, I know that the last two days have left a lot of people shocked and upset… Honestly, it would be right to inform you through an article, but in my opinion, I think that would be closer to a notice, so I'm writing this in the hopes that it would be less hurtful to my precious fans.
Firstly, it's true that we are in a relationship but please take the word 'transit' out. It's true that we met at his (Jun-yeol's) exhibition, but it was through a friend who is a photographer, and I stopped by to say hello as I heard that we might be working on the same project."
Earlier this month, So-hee and Jun-yeol were in talks to lead an upcoming adaptation of a mystery thriller webtoon.
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She said that they "exchanged feelings" for one another at the beginning of this year and that Jun-yeol and Hyeri had broken up in early 2023 even though the news broke in November: "Based on what I heard, I confirmed my feelings with him, and continued the relationship."
So-hee then acknowledged her own Instagram Story last night, saying that it was "pathetic and lame" of her.
"I should have just stayed quiet… Though I didn't want to see the rumours that I started dating Jun-yeol before the breakup, I saw them anyway, so I lost my cool for a moment and was rude," she said, adding that she will apologise to Hyeri about it.
"I sincerely apologise to you all for not reacting wisely… I acted based on my emotions rather than rational thinking and I acknowledge that this is completely my fault, regardless of my reasons."
So-hee also thanked her fans.
"Thank you (her fans) for supporting me and believing that I will become a better person, and for beating me up every time I do something wrong… now I've learnt to control myself better. I'll come back to you with a more mature version of myself."
While Jun-yeol himself has been silent, C-JeS Studios confirmed his relationship with So-hee after her blog post.
"Jun-yeol has been meeting up with So-hee since the beginning of this year. He got to know her after the breakup and recently confirmed his feelings with her," wrote C-JeS Studios.
They clarified that they didn't confirm the relationship yesterday to respect his privacy.
"But because we did not confirm their relationship, unnecessary misunderstandings and baseless speculations have been circulating both yesterday and today, and his rights are being severely violated," they said, adding that they will be taking legal action in response to falsehoods and defamation.
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syarifahsn@asiaone.com