Han So-hee admits to dating Ryu Jun-yeol

Actors Ryu Jun-yeol, pictured left, and Han So-hee [NEWS1]

Actor Han So-hee said she is “dating” actor Ryu Jun-yeol, but asked her fans not to misunderstand it as a “rebound.”

Han posted a long letter to her fans on her blog on Saturday morning, a day after denying it through the agency, saying that she did not want to let her fans know of her relationship through news articles as a mere "notification" but instead wanted to be more personal.

“First of all, it is true that I'm seeing [actor Ryu] with good feelings but please exclude the word ‘rebound,’” she wrote. “It is also true that I was there at [his] photograph exhibition but I was invited by my friend who is a photographer and the purpose of the visit was to enjoy the exhibit. I also decided to drop by as I heard that we might be working together.”

In November 2023, Han visited Ryu’s photo exhibition “A Wind Runs Through It and Other Stories.” Netizens began speculating that Ryu began dating Han right after breaking off a seven-year relationship with his ex-girlfriend Hyeri, an actor and member of K-pop girl group Girl’s Day.

Han went on to explain in detail that the two began to have romantic feelings toward each other in the beginning of this year and that the relationship with Ryu and Hyeri had already ended early 2023.

“I heard that news reports of their breakup first came out on November [of last year],” said Han, adding that she decided to start her relationship with Ryu after that.

“Thirdly, regarding the Instagram story I had posted, it was ridiculous of me to do that,” she added. Han had posted a story on her Instagram account on Friday saying that she does “not like anyone with a lover, nor do I give them space or interest in the name of ‘friendship,’ nor do I interfere in other people’s relationships.”

It was a post to counter Hyeri’s post who sarcastically said it is “fun to watch” what’s going on right now after unfollowing Ryu on Instagram. Though the two had broken up, they kept following each other on Instagram.

Han went on to say that it was so wrong of her to post that story and that it is “entirely her fault.” The post is now deleted.

She said that there will be a bombardment of articles about her soon, but she “just wanted to let everything out on this blog — the only place where I can communicate with my fans.”

She apologized to her fans for bringing them shocking news and making them feel uncomfortable.

Rumors began spreading on Friday of Han and Ryu dating after a post in Japanese with the caption “popular Korean actors are next to me at the hotel pool” and the tags “'Reply 1988’” and “'Nevertheless’” went viral. It did not contain a picture of the two together and was deleted by Friday afternoon.

Both the celebrities' agencies responded to the rumors later in the day, saying that they are not dating though they confirmed that the two were in Hawaii.

The two actors have both been offered roles for the upcoming drama series “Delusion,” an adaptation of a webtoon of the same name.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]