In sad news from K-drama world, celebrity couple Lee Dong Gun and Jo Yoon Hee have filed for divorce after three years of marriage. Citing “irreconcilable differences” as the main reason, Yoon Hee’s agency, King Kong Entertainment, reports that the divorce settlement was finalised in court on May 22.
The couple fell in love when they co-starred in K-drama The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop (2016) and registered their marriage in May 2017. They welcomed the arrival of their first daughter together in December of the same year, who is now under Yoon Hee’s custody.
Here’s a look back at other noteworthy Korean celebrity couple splits in recent history (sigh… R.I.P love):
In a rather public (and messy) break up, the well-loved couple officially announced their divorce in 2019. The split came as a surprise as the couple had always kept up the appearance of a loving life to the media. The pair often appeared together and expressed support for each other in interviews and shows.
The two met on the set of the drama Blood in 2015 and got married the following year.
Famously dubbed the Song-Song couple, fans of the hit drama Descendants of the Sun were heartbroken when their divorce was announced.
Like their separation, news of their marriage also came as a surprise back in 2017. Song Hye Kyo’s agency cited “personality differences” as a reason for their divorce.
The pair made headlines in South Korea again earlier this year when news of their US$11.6 million mansion being demolished broke. One thing’s for sure, watching Descendants of the Sun will never feel the same again.
In August 2016, the pair announced their relationship to the happiness of their fans. Despite an age difference of 17 years, the Goblin actress and Pied Piper actor who were from the same agency, HODU&U Entertainment, bonded over their mutual love for scuba diving. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived. After just dating for eight months, the two decided to go their separate ways due to their busy schedules.
Actor Lee Min Ho and singer-actress Suzy were one of the most envied couples of 2015, after confirming their relationship in March that year. They kept a low profile as a couple, so fans were skeptical when rumours swirled of their breakup which was ultimately confirmed in November 2017 by Suzy’s agency, JYP Entertainment. They cited “personal reasons” for the breakup, and reportedly remain good friends.
Fans of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo were sent into a frenzy when the co-stars, who played lovers onscreen, confirmed that they were dating in April 2017. Although they fell in love on set, they had been longtime friends, and had acted together in K-drama Cheese in the Trap back in 2016.
However, their agency, YG Entertainment, confirmed in August 2017 that the pair had parted ways although the exact reason was never revealed.
Official sources suggest the couple dated for a year before breaking up in September 2016. However, it’s believed that the idols parted ways months before that, but didn’t want the public to think their relationship was so short-lived. EXID’s Hani could be seen crying a lot at the time on many variety shows which led netizens to believe she must have been heartbroken.
In 2017, actor On Joo Wan and actress Jo Bo Ah split after dating for about two years. On January 20, Joo Wan’s representatives from Will Entertainment and Bo Ah’s representatives from Sidus HQ, confirmed the breakup. The two met for the first time in 2014 when they starred in tvN‘s The Idle Mermaid and announced that they had become a couple in February 2015.
The couple was known for publicly showing each other support and love, having starred in variety shows together such as Law of the Jungle. Their agencies confirmed in 2016 that their relationship had ended after three years but didn’t reveal anything more than that.
After an impressive six-year-long relationship, T-ARA‘s Soyeon and Jong Hyuk confirmed their break-up in 2016 and upset a lot of people in the process. Many fans thought these idols would go the distance and expected to them to walk down the aisle together due to how long the relationship lasted.
Even though Block B’s Zico and AOA’s Seolhyun had tried to keep their relationship secret, paparazzi photos of the two together quashed any attempts of hiding their union. They were only together for six months, however, before it emerged that they had parted ways in 2016. Netizens speculated that the split was because their relationship harmed their idol status as single and available pop-stars.
EXO’s Kai and f(x)’s Krystal dated for a little over a year before breaking up in 2017. The K-Pop superstars were labelmates on SM Entertainment and have known each other since they were trainees. Sadly, conflicting schedules caused them to have to end things.
The two have an 11 year age gap but had plenty of similarities, making them perfect for each other. IU revealed that it was love at first sight when they first met on a radio show which Ki Ha hosted in 2013, but sadly, the two broke up in 2017 after dating for more than three years.
Although never officially confirmed, this elusive celebrity relationship caused a lot of chaos within the K-Pop community. For four years, both sides would deny dating rumors, simply stating that the two are close friends. Shortly afterwards, the Big Bang leader was linked with Japanese actress Nana Komatsu, and rumors of a relationship with Kiko ceased.
Text: Natalya Molok, Tan Gin Yee & Elizabeth Liew
This post was updated on May 28, 2020.