Allegedly I suspect Jo Jung Suk as the senior. KSH would say he looked up to him b/c of Grease (musical JJS was in). Then on Two Cops, he said JJS didn’t give him much advice. Judging by the info released now, and given that JJS is known to have a good reputation, seems like there might have been a reason why JJS didn’t take to this guy. As for the other stuff mentioned, b/c leaking/uploading pics regarding that would lead to serious lawsuits esp. in Korea.

@soulsearch12 Ah yes JJS makes sense and matches the narrative. Now I’m also wondering if there’s a reason why KSH never spoke of Catch the Ghost.

CTG was good! He did say him and MGY had meals together. People are now speculating she was the FL he called ugly, for trying to ‘flirt’ with him. Rme. Anyways, as for CTG, I always suspected it was b/c the ratings got slashed in half by the second half of this show? And given that he does like to be center of attention, that by the end of the show, he didn’t appear as much. I also suspected Namgoong Min as well, because he would annoy NGM with many questions. Of course, NGM wouldn’t show his annoyances, but could see why that would be irksome lol esp. during a long long shooting day.

KSH said that he barely kept in touch with people. And he only had 3 other friends he hanged out who for now said they enjoyed hanging out w/ him. Seriously, dude exposed himself in prior interviews. He said one of his friends called him pretentious b/c his so called image of being nice seemed fake. Turns out his friend was right. Seemed like he hanged out w/ yes men, people who flattered him, & he bought into it.

Trust me, you are not the only one. Sometimes, Western celebs and all their messiness lol, its like well at least they aren’t hiding their true nature. For Korean celebs, b/c they are hold to a higher standard, makes me wonder which star there is sweating rn.

As for KSH’s case, I think once he became more famous publicly he started to change/get hot headed. I assume he was sincere, but being nice b/c cast/crew can’t work in an environment that’s tense. But it was more scary, that he was selling this “bf” image in public, but bts treating his ex gf like trash. He did say in interviews during his theatre days that he dated around, so seems like he was a bit of a player? The irony here is if dude just accepted his responsibility and married/had a child, sure it would’ve been shocking, but eventually long run, it would’ve been for the best. Smh.

Lol, honestly yeah. Who knows? Fame/$$ changes people. The stars who stay true to their values/roots, & not buy into short glitz/glamour are those I respect heavily. Although will say, given Korea’s strong defamation laws, sometimes I wish like Hollywood lol that there were anons who would give us deets on trash bags/etc. It’s scary that even if what the person is saying is true, in court in Korea, they could lose. I really wish the trash bags in the industry would get revealed :(. Whose your last fav? If your scared to jinx them, then yeah its ok lol.

@soulsearch12 I think it probably would have been a disaster of a different kind if he had married her, like an Uhm Tae-woong kind of situation. I wish Korean society made it easier for women to be single mothers and stars to have a child out of wedlock without it being a colossal scandal.

@missh It’s scary how this guy promised her marriage/future together under threats of gaslighting/manipulation.

“I wish Korean society made it easier for women to be single mothers and stars to have a child out of wedlock without it being a colossal scandal.” IA. I keep thinking of a Hollywood star, Olivia Wilde who had two children out of wedlock, but even though she and her ex separated. She’s able to be a respected director, do her thing, and etc, and her career is intact.

For KSH, the craziest thing is his ex wanted to keep the child, and said she would keep their relationship a secret until he was ready to do so. Its such a sad/messed up situation, the poor woman will have to think of “What ifs” esp. during Children holiday. Not going to go the details, but he willingly knew and still did it. And then is all “Pikachu shocked” when she’s pregnant, smh.

Oh god, that scandal ew. 2D1N really has a curse. But seriously, that or Lee Dong Gun too. There’s a Japanese entertainer in Korea ho had surrogacy, and many supported her. Rare case, but man I do wish society would just allow women to do whatever they wanted w/o fear from society :(.

@soulsearch12 Right? I wonder what it is with SK still running their entertainment industry like this…oh wait it generates a lot of money. High gainings but the stakes are high and this incident proved how volatile fame can be.

My last fave is Junho and I’m not afraid of jinxing it because it is what it is lol. 😅 No, but really I hope he doesn’t surprise me like this one day.

@missh Isn’t that a paradox, huh? If it weren’t for the certain stigmas in Korea, how many situations could have played out differently. Ofc, he could have still proven to be a jerk but idk just I can’t help but wonder.

I love how we are dissecting para-social personas lol.

Oh Junho! I don’t really follow him, so yeah lol. We all hope that, but men gotta be men. Really, is it hard for people to be decent? I was thinking of a tweet that said, “People who said your favs are mess free, well tomorrow that could change.” https://twitter.com/AlbaneylaAO/status/1450722801653108740

Seems like as soon as he coldly dumped her, he allegedly has a younger gf he’s supposedly seeing. He promised her marriage, a future together, & then changes once she’s pregnant w/ their child. And then pulling diva antics to get her to abort, so his career/himself can flourish. So selfish and stupid. If not her, he prob. would’ve done this to his next partner.

Really, if we look at this in a broad sense, K0rea’s strict dating culture & how it effects popularity/life of these stars does paint a very negative old fashioned view of Koreas entertainment industry. I mean, these industries used to be run of mafias/gangsters. I mean, the whole X Fil3s case in Korea (Which exposed many celebs/now impossible to find) showed that celebs have open secrets that are protected/blocked by their agencies/force.

@soulsearch12 Whenever an incident like this comes out I always find myself questioning and analyzing the way celebrities are portrayed in Korea and just the overall works of their “world.” Sometimes it seems really shady! i.e. that xfiles case. But backtracking a bit, it’s mind boggling how the industry grows off of these parasocial relationships. Yet isn’t it ironic how it backfires on them when the image is broken? Like you set the stage and now it’s falling apart. But I guess they have this constant influx of new talents so they may just flip a page and move on. It’s a vicious cycle and ofc consumers play a big part of it. In any event, sometimes I just sit back and watch (and marvel) at how blindly some fans follow their faves. They talk like they know them and if anyone dares call their fave out, not even necessarily a major scandal, they become incredibly defensive and insulting. Yes, like them if you want to, be a fan, but acknowledge you don’t really “know” them. Why are you so worked up for someone you don’t know? Or why get upset that a celebrity is dating? The notion of that concept is almost comedic!

That’s why the best way around this ordeal is to not be too attached, like you said. Just have fun! That’s what dramas and music are for! They should serve as a distraction and to make life more enjoyable. I say “I love Junho” all the time but that’s just me having fun and enjoying his works and talent and looks…ahem. I genuinely hope the actors/singers I like are good people, I really do! And although I realize how complex and fragile image making is, I don’t like doubting everyone either. Even with my bits of cynicism I still like to think there are more genuine celebrities out there. I don’t expect them to be perfect but at least for them to be decent people. Which btw, likewise on your Jisung comment lol.

@yongsital I think a-holes exist in Korea/Hollywood sadly. I think a lot of them do a better job of getting rid of any evidence or settlements. NDAs are quite popular as well. Makes me think had he apologized sincerely to his ex, this situation wouldn’t have snowballed to this extent. But also, if that didn’t happen, we would all be consuming his works w/o knowing the seediness. As someone mentioned in the thread, this guy did have the chops/talent to go far,& his film roles was going to show that. But he made his bed, he knew what would happen if a case like this went public. Four months ago, he could’ve made a diff choice. But alas, I just feel for his poor mom who was the one who pushed him to be on TV. It’s sad that fame/success really changes someone, & honestly it makes me re-examine the stories/etc. I read, & how someone could change? Its a shame truly, when I was really into him, I would hear countless stories/pics of his pre-fame days, & was glad to see someone like him succeed. Obviously, these things that absolve what he’s done, but w/ some time passed, it really is a sad and cautionary story. He just rose up quickly, and then splat.

Yeah I feel entertainment industries are dirty. Rumors of sponsors pop up, & big stars have been rumored. Casting couch scares me. Allegedly Mystic Pop Up Bar’s PD is one of them. Hometown’s writer (diff drama), had a #metoo writer on, so ratings were affected.

Korea has higher expectations placed on celebs. Public image is very vital to them. If one f’s up, they must take a long break before coming back. Altho men have it way easier, it disturbs me actors who committed assault still work as ML’s. I don’t blame fans for buying into that image, it can be spellbinding before you feel overwhelmed by it. But of course, we don’t know these people in rl. And how they’re to their cast/crew is going to differ then how they’re to their pals/lovers. I think its fine to fantasize about them, if its done in a fun manner. Not too serious, & enjoy their works/looks/interviews.

One thing I do ponder is, when celebs say X celeb is their ideal type/flirt w/ them in interviews, and people ship them. I sometimes feel awkward b/c they might be dating someone in private. I found it ironic how people were shipping him & Suzy during SU, when he actually had a long term gf. Some people really go OTT w/ the shipping, & it seeps into their rl.

I saw Junho’s workout routine,nice lol! Hope so too, but yeah I would read countless stories (cast/crew/strangers/fans/ancedotes) about KSH that were positive, & then this bomb. I recall him even saying Jongmin taught him to see the good in people this Summer, & now I’m like “Huh, what?”Kang Ha Neul has this kind image too,but the whole KSH thing has got me second guessing now :(Once time passes, it’ll easier to just enjoy their works/interviews.Ji Sung only stays home if he’s not working lol,& for Lee Bo Young,he would quit acting to be w/ her.If they divorce, big shock 4 sure

Oh boy! Hey! Whew, it’s a lot to take in. First of, there are lots of layers here to dissect. When I first saw the news, it was the article that A wrote. Now we have his side, that being said Dispatch doing what Salt should do for their own talent is appalling. It does paint this as a toxic relationship that these two had. For me, her letter really went through a lot of his personality, his changes, and etc. The texts leaked from their friends side paints a picture that these two had troubles, but also ups too. But def. paints her in a bad light compared to him. Somewhere in the middle, the truth lies. For me, the biggest thing originally was how the image his agency/himself was giving was a 180 from how he treated his ex/was bts. Dude had 2 incidents w/ the afterschool stuff, add to that fame/$$ perhaps his real traits started to show up more? I know the abortion thing is more known, but that letter she wrote was scathing to him, (of course when a relationship ends badly, it affects your view of them/etc). It painted him as a manipulator, and two faced.

For me, this whole scandal has left a bitter taste in my mouth esp. with the pendulum swinging back to him. All the other stuff about his ex’s past life/etc are not my business. As for the letter she wrote, she seemed dismayed when she had to abort their child, and the texts he sounded ready to take care. He could also told her some unfavorable things to sway her opinion as well after he wrote those texts. Yes, this should’ve been a private matter, but from her pov, she prob. was jilted and frustrated that he was selling this pure BF energy when his behavior w/ her wasn’t like that. He even said he treated her poorly when they dated. In terms of grief, everyone deals w/ it differently & that’s something that’ll unfortunately doom on both of them.

Tbh, my adoration of the guy started to decrease as he got more famous/star like. Even w/ this case or not, Salt’s handling of this issue and still trying to paint this good boy image on him isn’t helping. I feel them trying to still do damage control is a red flag. Even if he comes back (men usually do), this could backfire on him in the long run (in terms of still inflicting this image on him). If they bring him back on 2D1N, I can see them trying to mold him into that type. Disappointing. I think for the time being, seeing him in works or interviews is going to be awkward. Meh. This was long lol!

@soulsearch12 See and to me its so weird when Dispatch gets involved, not only in this matter but other incidents regarding celebrities. Why do they “step up” for certain celebrities? What’s their judgement to want to get involved? Did SALT pay them to defend KSH so it’d come from a third party & it wouldn’t look like they were blindly defending their actor? I don’t know. It’s just weird for me to see Dispatch so disposed to help. I’m not saying the texts are false, I’m sure they are but a tabloid’s involvement (because as knows as Dispatch is they’re not really a serious communication agency) in the mix adds to that bitter taste left. In any case, their relationship definitely seems toxic and to be honest no one will ever know for sure what happened or what was said, not even their closest friends. Personally I think some type of settlement/agreement was made which led to her response a few days after the original post. If so, it was a strategic move because shortly after Dispatch released the texts that turned everything over; I assume his ex is unable to make rebuttals anymore.

Anyways, I’m not ashamed to have believed the ex first because in the majority of cases females are misjudged or deemed liars almost immediately against a male celebrity.

But in conclusion I agree. I haven’t really followed him this year. I was looking forward to HomeCha in hopes my adoration of him would be rekindled. It didn’t though and then this blew up. I hope and think it best for him to stick to movies for now.

Oh but you know what also leaves a bad taste? What about the allegations that he bad-mouthed his costars? That’s still hanging in the air and I think everyone forgot about it because they were so focused on the text messages and the ex’s past. Idk it just doesn’t sit well with me.

For sure, Dispatch’s involvement is huh. They’re known to be shady. Forgot the case, but supposedly they faked some texts to make one side appear more better a few yrs back. For sure, only those two knew what went down in their relationship. I heard some people say that her ‘apology’ was her settlement b/c she did say she would release info/proof before sh!t hit the fan. Given how strong their defamation lawsuits are, I guess longterm wise, it might have made things more hectic.

Oh for sure, same here. Given how misogynistic the culture is, and all the stuff about A, she was unfortunately bound to fail 🙁 In particular, women speaking up is hard thing to do, & she even stated that the info she wrote was a lot to show its her. Sigh.

I’m glad that both of us are looking at the bigger picture. I think given the context, but also broadly speaking, a lot of men probably sympathize with KSH (a politician there gave him support). Add to that internalized misogyny as well :/

His apology was both vague and also not. He admitted to dating A and treating her poorly at times, but neither confirmed nor deny the other stuff. That was a smart move ngl, but def. feel like the abortion was huge issue which is why the focus on it was a lot. She talked about how his character with her was diff. then his image on-screen, and how he would come to her place for sex, and demanding it. Blergh, I guess fame probably made him think he was hot stuff. Yeah, same here. I think he got very lucky, that the texts/Dispatch put him in a more positive light. So people probably forgot, or probably don’t buy it.

I was or should I’ve been?, that his film role was confirmed. I guess, he’s probably going to go into that realm. Fine, whatever. The whole ‘good boy’ image he/Salt presented and still going at, will do him more harm than good considering how he faltered hard in his personal life maintaining that. I think pushing so much onto an actor in such a short time and molding them to be a big star is evidently not great. Maybe, he’ll lessen his projects? Dunno, but it’ll be a bit hard ngl for the time being seeing him and not thinking about this whole scandal. Def. one of the strangest scandals to have come out in a while. Given what went down, whether Salt paid Dispatch, KSH’s role in it, & etc. Of course, their relationship was between them, & they had their ups and downs from what it seems.They had a messy breakup, abortion, failed promise for their future, & other things we’ll never know in regards to both. Media going at A leaves me cold

I saw these tweets, the poster in ? was quite heated up lol. But she did say that Salt in the wake of the scandal blowing up kept ghosting CF companies/press, but also that someone she knows who works in Korea said Salt were scared/doing major damage control to protect him.

https://twitter.com/rosiehyo/status/1453862709406150657
https://twitter.com/rosiehyo/status/1453862194148487169
https://twitter.com/robhoneys/status/1453819555583778816

Lol yeah. A lot of things since this incident has really made us second look/guess. I assume someone on his team made him do that lol. Also his forced smiling as well. I recall a pic of his staff (many people) clamoring around him just to get a pic of the guy. That’s when I was like, “Oh boy, this is too much. We lost him.”

Funny b/c I too became a bystander fan after our convo. After the Start Up fiasco slowed down, I slowed down on him. Only until Hometown Cha Cha Cha was airing again, when I felt excited to see him/SMA together (mostly for SMA lol). But even then, I wasn’t like keeping up w him/nor the show. When I heard news of his film offers, I was thrilled for him b/c he’s at the age where he’ll to transition into mature roles. But tbh, I was turned off by his excessive CFs/amount of it/fan meetings/etc. It felt so fake to me, plus his over zealous Stans on SNS turned me off too :3. That’s why when some of my favs become uber famous, I hate to be cynical but it really does change my enjoyment of them.

I know for you b/c you were a fan of his before his fame, it prob. sucks more. But ultimately, there are new actors that break out every year. He didn’t manage himself well, and well you reap what you sow. I can’t believe an almost 40 year guy managed to f up his career by his own admission. Scoffs.

Yeah I really liked him in 2D1N until some time near the end of 2020 or 2021 and I don’t know what it was about his mannerisms but I started thinking “all this fame can not be good for him.” I still don’t know what it was exactly that made me feel that way ever since. This type of feeling makes me worried about other young actors who recently shot up as well…sad sad

@velvetstuff Its probably internal pressure too? He was booking things left/right. Honestly, he f’d up due to his shameless ways. I think you sense a vibe, like “hmm, they seem a bit off/over doing it?” This case it does seem like outside of that, he also had character issues (Speaking trash about his works/fans/co-stars) as well. Being famous perhaps magnified that.

“This type of feeling makes me worried about other young actors who recently shot up as well…sad sad” 100%. When I read stuff from fans like, I wish this actor would be a Hallyu star/get tons of leads/etc, I’m like “Be careful what you wish for.” Once you become a star, you start to lose sight of why you started in the first place. Thus, they get ruined like Zac Efron did (CAA wanted him to be a movie star), and it wrecked him. The more expectations placed, the worse it can be esp. given how dating is taken in Korea, worse. Like you want to confide in someone you love, but dating can ruin your popularity. Someone who just made it that I like is Wi Ha Joon. I think it’s better for him to rise to lead roles in his early 30s than his 20s. Of course, I do worry once actors who got some attention/fame, they change in bad ways. Like these actors get contacted by people who want them/want to date them/etc. Plus, a huge staff of people who are yes men, like of course it gets to their head. Its way better to get recognition for your work, get some leads/2nd leads/etc in good work (some popular/some not), have a stable life (dating/married/kids/etc), & stay free from things that only add to that. And the only time we hear of them are when they’re promoting their work.

Actors that I respect like Kim Nam Gil, b/c he doesn’t do any CFs even when he could (minus one this yr). I mean after Fiery Priest (he did none!) nor does he flaunt his wealth/luxury goods, no SNS, and he does his thing (most of his works aren’t that mainstream) while running his own NGO. But who knows, it could be smoke and mirrors? For men, the bar is low :3. I stg if him or Ji Sung f up, I give up (half joking).

@soulsearch12 I like both of them too. Don’t fail us. Thinking about it, my “favorites” are all in their 40’s, do a drama, and then disappear.