Korean Actor Scandals
Korean Idols, Kpop Stars, and Kdrama actors and actresses being caught up in nationwide, newsworthy scandals is nothing new. Even North Korean Idols like the Moranbong Band have been caught in scandals from time to time. While Kim Soo Hyun and his co-owned agency Gold Medalist are on the chopping block this time, I have to wonder if there are deeper issues in Korean society that lead their stars to fall in such ways.
Boys Over Flowers Controversy
Boys Over Flowers was my first Kdrama in 2009. Based on the popular Japanese manga series Hana Yori Dango, the series sparked a live action Japanese Drama (Jdrama) adaptation, the Chinese adaptation Meteor Garden, and of course – the Korean Boys Over Flowers.
The popularity of Boys Over Flowers spurred a Hallyu, or Korean Wave in both Korea and abroad – creating a momentous explosion of interest in Korean pop culture, music, food, and tourism that is still being felt today. Despite all of the positive exposure brought to the country, behind the scenes actors were unwittingly involved in scandals.
As we all know, Lee Min Ho was the main breakout star of this era.
Aside from a minor car accident alongside another actor, he has successfully completed his military training and seems content with being cast as the eternal pouty chaebol with a heart of gold. I don’t say this as a jab or slight to the actor – as I’ve been following his career since then and have seen almost everything he’s been in – but I just have to make the obvious observation other longtime fans share.
Gu Hye Seon, Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Bum, and Kim Joon were Lee Min Ho’s other costars during that time.
Gu Hye Seon, who played Geum Jan Di – seems to have had some agency trouble over the years after her divorce, and has focused more on directing films and dramas behind the scenes that have had…a somewhat lukewarm reception.
Kim Bum, for whom I had the biggest crush on – portrayed the playboy So Yi Jung. I rooted for he and Jan Di’s friend Chu Ga Eul to be an end game couple by the finale of the series. Even after the special episode however, their relationship status after the time skip remained a mystery.
Despite having all of the necessary qualities to be THE first male lead and carry a Kdrama on his back, there are rumors that due to internal politics at his agency, actor Kim Bum hasn’t had his chance yet to be the first male lead.
I even saw chatter online that many fans were upset that over a decade later, Kim Bum still is being cast as the 2nd male lead who is entangled in a love triangle in his upcoming 2026 drama, Sold Out Again Today.
Kim Joon, who played Song Woo Bin – the F4 member Yi Jung was closest to – didn’t have much of an acting career after Boys Over Flowers. Kim Joon instead pursued a debut in a boy band named T-Max in 2007 as a songwriter and rapper in the group. Aside from past music performances and acting in 2019, he has largely been off the public radar ever since.
Then we come to Kim Hyun Joong, who stole my heart and gave me my first case of second lead syndrome as Yoon Ji Hoon in Boys Over Flowers. I was convinced Ji Hoo was Jan Di’s soulmate, and remember her even saying as much in the show toward its ending.
I was devastated when Kim Hyun Joong’s acting career was tarnished by rumors of abuse from an ex-girlfriend in 2014. He had already split up with his band SS501, and then his acting career prospects took a nose dive following the scandal.
It was my first exposure to how actors, actresses, and idols are treated by their agencies, and even their fans. They are often not allowed to publicly date for fear of upsetting and insulting fans, and I learned many fans protested and even stalked idols and actors whose reputation had changed simply based on dating speculation alone.
I now know that the Japanese idol industry does something similar (we even have Netflix documentaries like Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, Tokyo Idols, and even anime like Oshi no Ko and Perfect Blue that depict this) but Korean netizens are a whole entirely different level of petty.
So much so, that in February 2018 when Kim Hyun Joong’s ex-girlfriend was found guilty by a court for fraud and sentenced to jail time, the years’ long scandal had tainted Kim Hyun Joong’s career to the point that even I – a casual American Kdrama fan – could never openly root for his upcoming works without fear of backlash from the online kfan community.
I can only imagine how actual Korean fans and K-netizens felt about this actor.
The real Boys Over Flowers controversy would have to be the apparent suicide of Jang Ja-Yeon, who passed away in 2009. Jang Ja Yeon played Sunny, one of the mean girls who bullied Jan Di for Gu Joon Pyo’s affections.
If memory serves me right, I recall Jang Ja Yeon took her life over allegations that she had been physically and sexually abused by entertainment executives. She is not the first actress, or actor, to make these claims, nor unfortunately the last who will take their life over the pain and abuse they suffered through in silence.
Yoo Ah In Controversy
Yoo Ah In is another Korean actor whose career has suffered due to controversy. Although I’d say this actor was treated much more harshly for illicit drug use ( chiefly for violating the Korean Narcotics Control Act by receiving 181 propofol injections between 2020 and 2022) compared to actors and actresses who face allegations of past bullying scandals or even the ever-present issue of sexual assault in South Korea.
I was familiar with Yoo Ah In due to his work in Chicago Typewriter, and enjoyed his film Seoul Vibe which I thought gave the Fast & Furious saga a run for their money. The film had good vibes. And of course, I sighed and rolled my eyes when I searched for more of his work only to be met with news of another dreaded scandal.
I was hoping he wasn’t completely done – because unlike other celebrity scandals, Yoo Ah In wasn’t hurting others with his alleged drug use – only himself.
Maybe it’s due to cultural differences, but I view taking drugs like propofol, sleeping pills, midazolam, ketamine, and even allegedly weed and cocaine as an attempt by an individual to heal themselves through self-harm due to some sort of trauma they experienced, or an attempt at dealing with a cruel society.
Also, this may be out of line – but I find it odd that throughout Kdrama, K Variety shows, and other media – South Korea has tried to normalize their collective abuse of alcohol. We have all watched characters get piss-drunk at mandatory hwaesik, or company dinner outings.
In fact, it’s always treated as comedy when one of the superiors or higher-ups “playfully” tries to sexually harass one of the new female employees, while others bury their heads in their drinks, clear their throats and silently flip the meat at the table’s grill, and pretend it isn’t happening right in front of them.
It is this cultural and societal dissociation that makes Korean society’s harshness over illicit drug use by celebrities seem hypocritical – when many ordinary citizens themselves can be considered habitual alcoholics when their society almost deems it necessary and enables it without personal regard to the consequences of their actions.
Kim Dong Hee Bullying Controversy
Then there is the issue of societal bullying due to ridged age hierarchy and wealth status, that is only punished later in life if a celebrity or idol gets “caught” doing it via past evidence. Kim Dong Hee of Itaewon Class comes to mind. After shooting an amazing drama in Extracurricular, Kim Dong Hee was hit with past allegations of bullying by netizens in elementary school, and has not been featured in any dramas since.
He has instead pivoted to movies – hopefully in an attempt to salvage his career from an unsatiable public.
In fact, I think the idol character named NJ in the Kdrama Our Beloved Summer had even changed her name in order to escape bullying allegations in the show. A common theme in both Korean media and society that seems to be overlooked by a majority of their citizens in anticipation of another scandal to dogpile a celebrity over.
The Current Kim Soo Hyun Scandal
I really enjoyed watching Bloodhounds in 2023. I was confused when a central character – Kim Hyeon Ju – was abruptly written out of the plot. I was then disappointed to learn that the actress portraying the character, Kim Sae Ron, had gotten into a DUI and most likely had ruined her career because of it.
Like most scandals at this point, I shook my head and simply moved on from the show after it concluded.
Recently, I managed to watch Queen of Tears on Netflix and remembered the lead actor was in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. While that drama was not my cup of tea, I decided to look up what else this actor was in and surprise – it’s Korean actor scandal time!
Only this time, I saw that even international and American outlets had caught wind of this particular scandal – meaning the once popular actor Kim Soo Hyun’s career might be done for sure at this point. Now all of that aside, imagine my surprise in finding out that the (former) child actress Kim Sae Ron had not only taken her life, but that Kim Soo Hyun and his agency Gold Medalist allegedly had a role in her suicide, and even the departed Sulli’s suicide due to cyberbullying, as well.
I am saying allegedly because although I doubt I would ever be on a Kdrama superstar’s radar, a YouTuber and journalist named Garosero (Kim Se Ui) who runs the channel Hoverlab apparently made the underage dating allegations about Kim Sae Ron and Kim Soo Hyun, and the latter is now suing the YouTube channel over these allegations.
Kim Sae Ron’s family alongside Garosero Research Institute allege that Kim Soo Hyun began dating Sae Ron when she was (international age) 15 years old, while he was in his late twenties at 27. Soo Hyun agrees that he did date the actress signed to his own agency, but it was after she became a legal age. (South Korea’s legal age of adulthood is international age 19 years old.)
There are various photos floating around of the two together in inappropriate situations while actress Kim Sae Ron was indeed, allegedly underage.
As a result of these allegations and legal investigations (and lawsuits!), he has lost various brand deals with companies in South Korea and lost status as a favored actor in the Korean public opinion.
Sulli’s suicide is also being linked back to actor Kim Soo Hyun and his cousin (and alleged half-brother??) and co-owner of their Gold Medalist agency, Lee Sarang.
Lee Sarang reportedly, abruptly replaced the original director of the 2017 film Real, Lee Jung Sub, after the latter had overseen much of the film’s production.
Sulli’s brother Choi Da Hee has reportedly spoken out after the death of Kim Sae Ron, pointing to Gold Medalist’s role in allegedly pressuring Sulli to complete a last-minute bedroom scene in the film involving nudity when a body double was hired to complete it, but was missing from set at the appointed time.
Choi Da Hee blames the backlash against the lack of modesty in Real as one of the contributing reasons to the public outcry in the form of cyberbullying the actress endured that led Sulli to commit suicide.
It also doesn’t help that Lee Kyung Young was associated with the film – an older male actor who was arrested for sexual relations and the alleged prostitution of minors. Despite only serving community service for these crimes, Lee Kyung Young has received steady work each year aside from a brief period when the allegations arose.
I am not sure what will become of this latest Kdrama scandal surrounding Kim Soo Hyun, or if his (alleged) crimes will shine a light on more grievances in the acting world. But I do know that Kim Soo Hyun will not be the first, or last Korean actor whose career ended due to scandal.
Deserved or otherwise.
Oh, I have neglected to mention that it is rumored Kim Soo Hyun lent Kim Sae Ron 700 million won to pay termination fees regarding a contract for a project she was working on. This may or may not have been related to the DUI she received while filming Bloodhounds. Despite allegedly agreeing to pay the money back in time, Kim Soo Hyun sent the debt to collections, and Gold Medalist allegedly threatened to sue Kim Sae Ron, who was already in debt at the time.
Kim Soo Hyun allegedly then ignored all incoming communications from Kim Sae Ron regarding the debt, so on Kim Soo Hyun’s birthday, Kim Sae Ron committed suicide.
The pair had allegedly dated for 6 years, with Kim Soo Hyun distancing himself from the late actress around the time of her DUI.
But, what do you think about all of this?
Are Korean celebrity scandals a result of an unforgiving society? Or a culture that prizes appearances above all else, not realizing that it will ultimately lead to a more detrimental society?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Kdrama Reviews!
☆ In Asian Spaces
Leave a Reply