The portal site Naver Entertainment Voting Tab held a poll asking “What is the best entertainment news in the first quarter of 2024?”. As of April 8th, more than 25,000 netizens have voted.
No.3 Lee Jae-wook and Karina’s breakup after 5 weeks of open dating
The breakup of actor Lee Jae-wook and aespa’s Karina placed No.3 with 1,208 votes (4%).
Lee Jae-wook and Karina met each other for the first time at Milan Fashion Show in January. In February, a media outlet reported their romantic relationship and they also confirmed it. This was aespa’s first open relationship. However, their romance did not last long. On April 2nd, the two announced their breakup after dating publicly for five weeks.
It is known that when Karina publicized her romance, fans sent protest trucks to SM’s office building demanding an apology from the female idol. Eventually, Karina released a handwritten letter. The US media CNN highlighted Karina’s breakup and emphasized enthusiastic fandoms as the reason it is difficult for Korean celebrities to date.
No.2 “Exhuma” becomes the first movie of 2024 to achieve 10 million admissions
“Exhuma” came in second place with 2,458 votes (9%).
Released on February 22nd, “Exhuma” has attracted over 11 million viewers and is still heading towards 12 million. As an occult mystery film, no one thought “Exhuma” would hit the milestone of 10 million admissions. However, the movie did better than expectations and became the first 10-million-admission movie of 2024.
Created by “occult master” director Jang Jae-hyun, “Exhuma” starred trustworthy actors Chi Min-sik, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun, and rising star Lee Do-hyun. Especially, Kim Go-eun’s performance as a shaman was considered one of the contributors to the movie’s success. As such, “Exhuma” is expected to win many awards this year. In particular, the drama got 6 nominations at the 50th Baeksang Arts Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best New Actor and Best Screenplay.
No.1 The romance and breakup of Ryu Jun-yeol & Han So-hee, and Hyeri
The entertainment news that attracted the most attention from netizens was the dating controversy between Ryu Jun-yeol and Han So-hee with the involvement of Hyeri. It took No.1 in the survey with an overwhelming number of 18,409 votes (72%).
This romance was so controversial that the “divorce gif” Han So-hee posted made headlines and there was even an interview with the owner of the dog in the photo the actress uploaded on SNS.
Ryu Jun-yeol and Han So-hee’s dating rumors spread on March 15th. In the process, Ryu Jun-yeol’s ex-girlfriend Hyeri wrote the caption “That’s interesting” on her SNS, sparking speculations of a transit love.
Ryu Jun-yeol and Han So-hee then acknowledged their love on the 16th. Later, Hyeri apologized for causing confusion with her caption and Han So-hee also apologized for her post targeting Hyeri. After that, Han So-hee went on refuting the transit love rumors with several explanations, while Han So-hee Ryu Jun-yeol and Hyeri remained silent.
Unexpectedly, Ryu Jun-yeol and Han So-hee broke up two weeks after publicizing their romance.
Following TOP 3, other entertainment news on the list are Kim Sae-ron’s ambiguous post, Hwang Jung-eum’s divorce lawsuit, “Dune”, etc. The vote will continue until April 16th.
