K-pop singer apologises to fans for having a boyfriend
‘I apologise for surprising you greatly... In future, I will show a more mature and hard-working side’
A K-POP star has issued a grovelling apology after enraged fans discovered she had a boyfriend and drove to her management agency in protest.
Fans accused Karina, 23, of “betrayal” after discovering that she was dating the actor Lee Jae-wook.
They drove an electronic billboard mounted to a vehicle that asked Karina why “the love given to you by your fans” was not enough.
Karina, the frontwoman of the girl group Aespa, wrote on Instagram that she would “heal the wounds” she had inflicted.
“I apologise for surprising you greatly,” the 23-year-old wrote. She promised to show a “more mature and hard-working side” in the future.
Aespa made their debut in 2021 with the single Black Mamba.
The singer, whose real name is Yu Ji-min, fronted their record-breaking EP My World, which sold 2.1 million copies in South Korea.
Stringent management, intense fan adulation, unrelenting media scrutiny and the pressures of a highly competitive industry have regularly caused strains on K-pop stars.
As recently as 10 years ago, many of them were banned from dating or having a personal mobile phone, while admissions of relationships are often viewed as scandalous by fans.
In Japan, K-pop stars have been bound by contracts that have “no dating” rules and getting married requires permission.
Last year, news of Blackpink’s lead vocalist Jisoo’s relationship with the actor Ahn Bo-hyun caused controversy.
Karina’s relationship with Lee, 25, was first made public on Feb 27. It was later confirmed that they met earlier in the year. C-JES Studio, Lee’s agency, asked for “warm respect ... as this involves his private life”.
The intensely competitive K-pop industry is worth an estimated £8 billion annually to the South Korean economy. In recent years, it has branched out beyond South Korea’s borders to the rest of Asia and, increasingly, across the world.