K-pop star Karina and Lee Jae-wook: Why has relationship ended following accusations of betrayal by music star’s fans?
“Is the love to you by your fans not enough? Why did you choose to betray the fans? Please apologise directly. Otherwise, you will see a decrease in album sales and empty concert seats.”
This was the message driven, on an electronic sign, to the headquarters of SM Entertainment in Seoul, South Korea, according to media reports in the country.
Why? The company formed and manages K-pop band Aespa, of which singer Karina is a member; this was the reaction after it emerged she was in a relationship with actor Lee Jae-wook.
Lee Jae-wook pictured at Milan fashion week earlier this year. Pic: Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Karina quickly published an image of a handwritten note, apologising for disappointing her fans and promising to “heal the wounds”.
Now, just a couple of weeks later, their break-up has been announced. SM Entertainment confirmed the split to Sky News, but did not comment.
Only a few days before this, South Korean actors Han So-hee and Ryu Jun-yeol reportedly announced their separation, just two weeks after publicly acknowledging their relationship.
Of course, celebrity couples break up all the time, and there are music stars from all over the world whose fans can sometimes take things too far when it comes to their love for their idols.
In 2022, Harry Styles and his then girlfriend Olivia Wilde addressed “toxic negativity” directed at her from a small corner of his fanbase. Last year, Taylor Swift reportedly told the crowd at a show in Minneapolis that fans should not “feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 million years ago”.
Taylor Swift’s fans are known as ‘Swifties’. Pic: AP Photo/George Walker IV
But while diehard fans can overreact to relationships and splits, in the K-pop world there is also controversy around the messaging put out by management, with agencies reportedly keen to promote their stars, known as idols, as romantically obtainable.
UK K-pop expert Felicity Davies, from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) University of London, is writing a PhD on the industry and its fandoms, and says it is common to hear of strict dating rules and even dating bans within the industry.
She points out examples of how going public with romantic relationships has worked out for some K-pop idols, such as Blackpink star Jisoo and actor Ahn Bo-hyun – reports they were dating emerged in August last year and the split was announced in October – and fellow Blackpink star Jennie and Exo boyband member Kai. His bandmate, Chen, is married with children.
“However, there does certainly seem to be a lot of pressure on artists to remain as clean cut as possible and to not be caught doing anything that could potentially be seen as ‘scandalous’, and often dating has appeared to come under this ‘scandalous’ label,” she says. But there isn’t “one unified way all K-pop agencies seem to approach this”, she adds.
Blackpink star Jisoo was in a relationship with actor Ahn Bo-hyun last year. Pic: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
In 2018, the stock of record label Cube Entertainment dropped several points after two of their artists, Hyuna and E’Dawn, began dating. It led to them both being removed from the agency’s roster.
“They soon signed with P Nation, an agency that takes no issue with dating, and they were able to continue with their careers in the music industry for multiple years while publicly together, even releasing duets at times,” Felicity says. “Different agencies have different approaches.”
The origins of modern K-pop date back to the 1990s, but perhaps the biggest turning point for Western audiences came from the unlikely source of South Korean rapper Psy and his single Gangnam Style.
Released in July 2012, by December of that year it had become the first YouTube video to reach one billion views.
BTS are one of the biggest K-pop acts. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Since then, the genre has evolved and become a multibillion-dollar industry, making worldwide stars of boybands such as BTS and girl groups like Blackpink. In 2019, BTS became the first ever Korean act to score a UK number one album, with Map Of The Soul: Persona – which also became their third Billboard number one album in less than a year in the US. They also sold out Wembley in 90 minutes.
BTS announced a hiatus in 2022, with several members now undertaking mandatory military duties, but there are still plenty of acts filling charts around the world, including Stray Kids, Fifty Fifty and NewJeans.
Last year, 35 different K-pop albums entered the Billboard 200, and five topped the chart.
The fandoms are huge – but not all fans have such extreme reactions to romantic relationships.
Despite the backlash she has faced for her relationship with Lee Jae-wook, many of Karina’s followers have been supportive.
In fact, looking at the response to her Instagram post, which has received more than 2.6 million likes, the vast majority have called out her need to apologise. “Apologise for loving someone?” one wrote. “You don’t need to do this, you deserve to be happy.”
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Felicity says that while there are still restrictions, K-pop stars have more freedom now than they did 15 years ago.
“I do also think that if the ‘anti-dating’ fans continue to become more widely recognised as the inappropriate exception, and the less bothered ones the expected norm, industry restrictions towards dating will continue to ease even more,” she says. “Hopefully to the point where idols will be able to date freely without fear of such negative reactions.”
But she adds: “However, as the situation with Karina and Lee Jae-wook shows, we’re not quite there yet.”
The first episode of a podcast hosted by AI replicating Sir Michael Parkinson has been released – and comedian and podcaster Jenny Eclair has branded it a “terrible, terrible idea”.
The podcast Virtually Parkinson sees AI technology synthetically recreate the late presenter’s voice and style to interview real-life celebrities.
Known for his interviews with the world’s biggest stars, Parkinson died in 2023 aged 88, following a brief illness.
The first episode released on Monday saw the Parkinson AI speak to R&B singer Jason Derulo, who was answering questions about his upbringing, fatherhood and fracturing part of his neck.
Eclair, who co-hosts the podcast Older and Wider with Judith Holder, said it made her “furious”.
Jenny Eclair, pictured in 2015, co-hosts the podcast Older and Wider. Pic: PA
Speaking about the podcast on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Eclair, 64, said: “I’m furious, because there are living people like me who’ve still got mortgages, I’ve just actually mostly got rid of mine.
“But there’s not enough room. I know he was dearly loved and that sort of thing but there’s loads of back catalogue content that people can help themselves to.
“This is a terrible, terrible idea, we’re all fighting over the same space you know, the podcasts and the telly, and everybody’s desperately trying to say ‘me over here, please listen to my stuff’.
“I’ve got a podcast and I don’t think I can compete with Michael Parkinson, even when he’s not living and breathing.”
Michael Parkinson and Dame Helen Mirren. Pic: Rex
Virtually Parkinson’s producers Deep Fusion Films, who created the show with the support and involvement of Parkinson’s family and estate, said: “Jenny’s comments are precisely why the podcast was created, AI is a subject which people have strong opinions about, but is AI as scary as people think it is?
“Is it really coming for people’s jobs? Virtually Parkinson exists to explore the relationship between AI and humans, it simply couldn’t do that without having an AI host, so this is not a case of an AI replacing a human job.
“In fact, the podcast is launched at a time when the creative sector has been hit very hard and many find themselves out of work and Virtually Parkinson has created 15 jobs, which otherwise wouldn’t have existed.”
‘A tribute to my dad’
It was Parkinson’s son, Mike Parkinson, who reached out to the company with the idea of creating the podcast as a way to preserve his father’s legacy, calling it “a tribute to my dad”.
Deep Fusion was already using AI technology – dubbed “Squawk” – to allow live humans to speak with voices from the past.
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When Mike Parkinson reached out, Deep Fusion drew from a back catalogue of more than 2,000 of his father’s interviews to recreate his voice and interview technique.
The company also expanded to create the project, hiring a new head of creative AI, an AI prompt engineer, researchers, guest bookers, podcast producers, and a sound engineer.
When the podcast was first announced last year, Mike Parkinson said: “I want audiences to marvel at the technology, the cleverness and cheekiness of the concept, but mostly I want them to remember just how good he was at interviewing and enjoy the nostalgia and happy memories.
“Through this platform, his legacy can continue, entertaining a new generation of fans.”
Podcast comes as government embraces AI future
The show’s launch has coincided with the government’s pledge to “mainline AI into the veins” of the UK, claiming that if AI is “fully embraced”, it could bring £47bn to the economy every year.
Announcing his goals to make the UK “the world leader” in AI, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Artificial Intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. From teachers personalising lessons, to supporting small businesses with their record-keeping, to speeding up planning applications, it has the potential to transform the lives of working people.
“But the AI industry needs a government that is on their side, one that won’t sit back and let opportunities slip through its fingers. And in a world of fierce competition, we cannot stand by. We must move fast and take action to win the global race.”
Entertainment
Dancing On Ice dedicated to The Vivienne as vigil held in Liverpool to remember drag queen
RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne was remembered at a vigil in their home city of Liverpool on Sunday night.
James Lee Williams, originally from Colwyn Bay in North Wales, died on 5 January aged 32.
Hundreds of fans and friends of The Vivienne gathered at Liverpool‘s St George’s Hall.
Buildings across the city were lit up in green to commemorate the drag queen and their role as the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard Of Oz musical.
Fellow drag queen Danny Beard said the vigil was “a celebration of someone who touched the lives of so many”.
“The Vivienne was one of the world’s most recognisable drag queens, a proper world class entertainer,” they added.
“And above all a shining beacon in all of our lives and especially for the LGBT community.”
James Lee Williams – better known as The Vivienne. Pic: PA
Since The Vivienne first rose to prominence in 2019, they appeared on a number of TV programmes, including Blankety Blank over the Christmas period.
The first episode in the series of Dancing On Ice on Sunday night also featured a tribute to The Vivienne, who competed on the 2023 series.
Presenter Holly Willoughby said many would have been “saddened by the tragic news”.
“They were a huge part of our show, making it all the way to the final in 2023,” she added.
“They will be very sorely missed and our thoughts are with The Vivienne’s loved ones at this time. So sad.”
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In a tribute released after Mr Williams’s death, a Dancing On Ice spokesperson said they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
They said Mr Williams had made “TV history through their groundbreaking and spellbinding skating partnership”, becoming the first drag act to reach the Dancing On Ice final.
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