Karina: Why one of K-pop’s biggest stars has been forced to apologise to fans for having a boyfriend

A K-pop star has apologised for having a boyfriend after her furious fans accused her of “betrayal”.

The incensed fans accused the 23-year-old Karina of betraying them after they found out she was dating actor Lee Jae-wook.

According to reports, the fans drove a truck with an electronic billboard to the star’s agency that displayed messages for the pop star. “Is the love given to you by your fans not enough?” read one of the messages to Karina.

“Why did you choose to betray the fans? Please apologize directly. Otherwise, you will see a decrease in album sales and empty concert seats,” the message read.

In a letter she posted on her Instagram after the outrage by her fans, the Aespa singer apologised to them and promised to “heal the wounds” she had inflicted, the BBC reported.

“I apologize for surprising you greatly,” Karina wrote in a handwritten note. She added that she would show her “more mature and hardworking side” in the future.

The vocalist, whose real name is Yu Ji-min, has been at the forefront of the quartet Aespa since they first emerged on the scene in 2020 with their debut single “Black Mamba”.

Last year, their groundbreaking album “My World” achieved remarkable success, selling over 2.1 million copies in South Korea.

Karina’s relationship with actor Lee was revealed on 27 February with the couple confirming they had first met last year.

Lee’s agency C-JeS Studio has requested “respect” from the public as “this involves his private life”, the New York Post reported.

Some fans, meanwhile, were supportive of Karina and her love life despite the deluge of hate comments. “You don’t need to apologise for feeling. I will always root for your happiness. You deserve all the love, support, all the good things,” wrote one of them.

In South Korea, just over a decade ago, it was a widespread practice among K-Pop agencies to ban their emerging stars from dating or even possessing personal cell phones.

Pop stars and celebrities in South Korea have a reason to be cautious especially with die-hard fans being fickle and agencies asserting control over their lives. The acknowledgement of a romantic relationship or having a partner is often met with scandal.

Last year, another K-pop star, Jisoo of Blackpink, openly shared her romantic life and invited a storm in the record-label industry.

The 28-year-old singer and 35-year-old actor Ahn Bo-hyun were reported to have been in a relationship. After the furore by the fans, the duo’s management agencies appealed to the public for their support and understanding.

Ahn Bo-hyun, known for his modelling and acting career in South Korea, gained recognition through his roles in hit TV dramas like “Itaewon Class” and “Yumi’s Cells”.

While there have been instances of well-known members from groups like EXO and Twice making their relationships public, such disclosures remain rare in South Korea.

Due to the intense scrutiny by the fans, most of the celebrities in South Korea seldom share details about their personal lives.

In the K-pop industry, idols’ careers are greatly dependent on their public image, and dating controversies can have a profound effect on their professional life.

“They want to sell idols that appear to be, at least in an imaginary sense, romantically obtainable. Fans can imagine themselves in some form of social relationship with this idol,” sociologist Patrick Williams of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore told BBC last year.

In 2019, another instance of fans reacting negatively to a K-pop star revealing their relationship status occurred when Kang Daniel and Jihyo were discovered to be dating. The uproar resulted in a barrage of threatening social media messages directed at another celebrity, who was rumoured to have played a role in matchmaking the couple.

In “K-pop Evolution”, a documentary series that delves into the rise and global impact of K-pop as a cultural phenomenon, first-generation idol Kim Taewoo of g.o.d revealed his clever strategies for dating undetected. To escape the watchful eyes of the public and his agency, he transformed his car into a secret rendezvous point.

Another former boy band A-JAX member, Dowoo, has also previously recounted a story on Channel A’s “Erotic Couple” where he admitted to once hiding his then-girlfriend (who is now his wife) in a suitcase to slip past those who might recognise them.

In 2018, other K-pop stars HyunA and E’Dawn faced severe professional repercussions when they revealed their relationship. Cube Entertainment initially denied rumours of their dating, but following the couple’s decision to openly acknowledge their partnership, they were dismissed by the management company.

HyunA, a well-known woman artist, and E’Dawn, a rapper from a boy band, had made their relationship public without the approval of their agency.

JYP Entertainment, the agency behind popular groups such as TWICE and STRAY KIDS, adheres to a strict policy forbidding artists from dating for the first three years following their debut, as was stated by its founder, Park Jin-young.

Park reportedly tweeted in April 2022: “JYP does have a dating ban… I tell my artists that for three years after their debut they shouldn’t date or meet friends, but just focus their lives on practicing. In other words, after three years, established artists don’t have a dating ban.”

Some K-pop stars have in the recent past, openly talked about having hidden their dating and/or marital status. Kim Hee-chul of the K-pop group Super Junior and Momo from Twice disclosed their two-year relationship in January 2020. And in February of that year, Lee Jae-hoon from Cool revealed he had been married for a decade and had two children.

During the same period, Sung Joon, a model who transitioned to acting, announced that he had wed his girlfriend, who was expecting, before his 2018 military enlistment.

“Many followers, especially those who are young and unmarried, tend to regard their stars as ‘dream lovers’. Hence, once they learn that the celebrities are married, they can easily turn away,” comedian-turned-psychologist Kwon Young-chan was quoted as saying in 2020 by Korea Times.

“Numerous celebrities believe that marriage will lead to a fall in their popularity. For them, losing popularity means losing fans who bring them economic gains.”