Love is in the air for these Korean celebrities! When you’re a Korean star, your dating life becomes public fascination. So if you’re still reeling from the Song-Song couple split last year, these Korean celeb couples may give you a bit of hope. Check out the Hallyu stars who are confirmed dating (or even married!) in 2020:
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We’re kicking off 2020 with good news! The agencies of Super Junior member Kim Heechul, 36, and TWICE member Momo, 23, confirmed that the pair have started dating, after both SJ Label and JYP Entertainment denied rumours back in August 2019.
The couple have known each other since at least 2016, when TWICE guest-starred on the variety show Knowing Brothers together, of which Heechul is a main cast member, and had been battling dating rumours ever since. They started out as close friends with a “senior-junior” relationship (thanks to their 13-year age gap), ever since Momo was invited to star in Heechul’s music video, “Sweet Dream” (2016).
It’s the SJ member’s first public relationship since his debut in 2005, although he had been linked to a number of Korean stars like actress Park Eun-Hye (or Ivy) and SNSD’s Kim Taeyeon.
The leader of girl group TWICE and ex-member of boyband Wanna One are officially a couple! Both of their agencies have confirmed reports that they have been dating since the beginning of 2019, saying, “They are currently meeting with interest in each other.”
The 22-year-old singers were spotted on a date in Hannam, Seoul, on August 1, when Jihyo drove to Kang Daniel’s home in her personal car. They were reportedly introduced to each other by veteran K-pop singer and actor Im Seulong.
On August 5, Kang Daniel posted a lengthy letter to his fans, thanking them for staying by his side all these years and apologising for the “sudden news” although he didn’t mention Jihyo or his dating life specifically. He wrote, “I’ve received so much from fans and I feel grateful. I’ll try to return more than that in the future. Tomorrow, I’ll become Kang Daniel who is better than today.”
In July 2019, the 37-year-old actor and 24-year-old model revealed that they are a real life couple after appearing on Taste of Love 2, a Korean romance reality TV show, where single celebrities are set up on blind dates with a partner who fits their ideal type.
They confirmed the news at a baseball game where they were first pitcher and batter. Before throwing the first pitch, Chang Suk said, “Lee Chae Eun and I have started dating”, to the surprise of everyone.
The MC clarified, “Do you mean in real life, or on broadcast?”, to which Oh Chang Suk replied with confidence,”We have decided to date officially.”
On March 16 2019, the Korean-Japanese singer and television personality announced that he was dating Korean speed skater Sang Hwa. They got to know each other on the set of SBS variety show “Law of the Jungle in Last Indian Ocean”, where they eventually started going out, confirms his agency.
The couple got married on October 12, 2019 in front of friends, family and acquaintences from both the sports and entertainment fields.
The 34-year-old Running Man actor and the 25-year-old actress revealed on December 31, 2018, that they have been dating for five months. The pair first met on the set of Running Man back in 2016, which is when they started developing feelings for each other.
MBLAQ’s G.O confirmed in an Instagram post in 2018 that he and actress Choi Ye Seul had started dating. The touching caption revealed that G.O has found it incredibly difficult to find someone who accepted him for who he was in the Korean entertainment industry but, after about 10 years in the industry, he’s managed to find love in Ye Seul. In January 2019, the pair announced that they’ve decided to move in to live together, after seeking permission from their parents.
[UPDATE] On September 28, the couple officially tied the knot in a small, private ceremony for around 70 of their closest friends and family. Congrats!
The former T-ara member took to Instagram in January 2018 to confirm that she and actor Lee Seung Jae were dating. She accompanied the photos with a sweet caption: “We met in 2017 with many rough times, and I also experienced a major life crisis. I didn’t have anywhere to lean on while filming, and although it was rough, thank you so much for giving me strength, getting angry for me, and being by my side eventually to the end.”
In August 2019, Areum announced that they couple were expecting their first child. They had originally planned to get married in February 2020, but decided to push the wedding forward to October 2019 instead.
These co-stars met on the set of their show, Father Is Strange and romantically fell in love. According to their agency, Jellyfish Entertainment, the couple have been dating since October 2017 but only decided to reveal their relationship in 2018.
Both K-drama actors confirmed their relationship via their agencies in March 2018, although the couple is said to have been dating since 2017. The rumour was sparked when videos were released of the pair on an overseas trip together as well as at a national park.
The private couple were spotted attending an IU concert together in November 2019.
When news leaked in August 2018 that the couple, who were both in the same band Triple H, were dating, it caused a media frenzy. Although their agency Cube Entertainment denied it at first, the pair revealed that they’ve been dating for two years, since May 2016.
The former Wonder Girls and 4Minute member shared that she and the Pentagon member met when he was a trainee, and that their relationship blossomed as they worked together professionally.
Cube Entertainment announced they would kick the couple from the label, before retracting their statement the next day after huge backlash from fans. They ended their contracts with their label that same year, and joined Psy’s new label, P Nation, in 2019.
The couple regularly share lovey-dovey snapshots on social media, something that’s a bit of an anomaly in the K-pop world.
Is marriage on the cards for this longtime couple? The actors, who announced their relationship back in 2012, are still going strong after more than six years of dating and despite their 13-year age gap. Sooyoung revealed to Naver in 2019 that the secret to their relationship’s longevity can be attributed to their “easygoing personalities” and the fact that working in the same industry allows them to understand and support each other better.
After confirming that they were in a relationship back in Sep 2017, the couple got married a year later in October 2018. They’re now proud parents of a 19-month-old boy, Jaeyul, and announced in August 2019 that they are expecting twins!
G-Dragon and his label, YG Entertainment, are usually quick to dismiss dating rumours so when they kept mum about the rumours regarding GD and After School’s Lee Joo-Yeon, fan’s tongues starting wagging. To add fuel to the fire, Joo-Yeon uploaded a selfie with GD but quickly deleted it.
The two were also spotted going on fun vacations together to Jeju and Hawaii back in 2016.
After confirming their relationship in April 2019, the lead stars of romantic web drama series “Is Lovesickness Refundable?” dated for almost a year (since December 2018) before they broke up.
Former co-stars Hyin Woo and Pyo Ye Jin went public with their relationship in September 2018, when they released a statement through their agencies. According to reports by news outlet, OSEN, the couple have been dating for three months.
However, in November 2019, Ye Jin’s agency revealed that the couple had broken up.
Text: Elizabeth Liew
This post was updated on January 2, 2020.