The Korean leisure world is buzzing this month, and never solely as a result of prime actors Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-a are getting married after a decade of courting. Their wedding ceremony has unexpectedly revived world curiosity in a uniquely Korean pattern: celeb {couples} who date quietly — usually for seven to 10 years — earlier than lastly tying the knot.
Kim and Shin will maintain a non-public ceremony on Dec. 20 in Seoul with household and shut associates. Their company, AM Leisure, mentioned, “Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-a promised to change into lifelong companions primarily based on the deep belief they’ve constructed over a few years.”
Shin Min-a, left, and Kim Woo-bin / Xportsnews
Kim, born in 1989, and Shin, born in 1984, went public with their relationship in 2015. Over the previous decade, they’ve earned reward in Korea for retaining their romance low-drama and for his or her regular philanthropy, main followers to name them a “mannequin couple.”
Their wedding ceremony has now sparked broader public consideration towards different long-term celeb relationships — a lot of which lasted practically a decade earlier than marriage, a sample that differs from the customarily shorter span of high-profile Hollywood romances.
A deeper pattern: Korean celeb {couples} who date for years in non-public
One instance is singer Jung-in and musician Jo Jung-chi, who married in 2013 after 11 years of courting. They’re now dad and mom to 2 kids. On the time, they made headlines for asserting that they’d skip a conventional wedding ceremony ceremony fully. As an alternative, Jung-in hiked to the height of Jirisan carrying a veil, and the couple sealed their marriage with a kiss overlooking the mountains — an unconventional gesture that drew widespread consideration.
Jung-in and Jo Jung-chi / Captured from Jung-in’s social media
Singer Seven and actress Lee Da-hae additionally married after eight years collectively. Regardless of their lengthy relationship, they hardly ever posted pictures collectively on social media or appeared as a pair on tv, sustaining a stage of privateness that stands in stark distinction to Western celeb tradition. In March 2023, they shocked followers by releasing a flood of wedding ceremony pictures together with their marriage announcement. Their ceremony turned a serious leisure spotlight, that includes a star-studded visitor record together with BIGBANG’s G-Dragon, Daesung and Taeyang; members of 2NE1; and prime TV personalities. Taeyang, Gummy and Bada carried out congratulatory songs, whereas comedians Kim Jun-ho and Jo Se-ho hosted the occasion.
Seven and Lee Da-hae / Captured from their social media
In one other case, actors Yoon Solar-woo and Kim Ga-eun, who met whereas filming a KBS drama in 2015, married final month after 10 years of courting. Their relationship was so non-public that not a single courting rumor surfaced all through the last decade.
Different long-term {couples} embody actors Hwang Bo-ra and Cha Hyun-woo, born Kim Younger-hoon — the son of veteran actor Kim Yong-gun and youthful brother of actor Ha Jung-woo — who married in 2022 after 10 years collectively. Actor Namgoong Min and mannequin Jin Ah-reum additionally wed in October 2022 after seven years of courting.
This text from Xportsnews is customized by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Instances.
