I often wonder about serendipitous timing of news stories, either it’s mostly manufactured or conveniently timed, or else shit really does happens in twos and threes. Hot on the heels of the We Got Married brouhaha last week around the Song Jae Rim–Kim So Eun couple when she poured cold water on the fandom by nixed the possibility of any real life romance developing, another WGM couple is in the middle of an even bigger situation this week. A tabloid newspaper has published the dating bombshell that model-actor Hong Jong Hyun is actually dating After School‘s Nana while still in the middle of a WGM virtual marriage with Girl’s Day‘s Yura. Cue the WGM fandom screams of “how dare he!”
Both Hong Jong Hyun and Nana’s respective agencies have swiftly denied the dating rumors but admitted the two are good friends in real life and open about it. WGM producers had to get involved this time and released a statement that all participants in WGM are required to sign a written oath not to be dating anyone else in real life during the filming because the show is about a virtual marriage and the participants are required to go into it with a sincere heart (their words, not mine). The production backed Hong Jong Hyun as signing the oath ergo he could not be dating Nana and therefore violate his written oath while still doing WGM with Yura. So there you have it, another scandal quelled while shedding more light on the WGM experience.
I figured the production of WGM required participants to agree to not publicly date someone else in real life while filming, otherwise why cast only openly single entertainers. If the show was pure drama with zero possibility, then cast married entertainers as well since it’s just acting, right? The producers of WGM, in response to this latest Hong Jong Hyun dating tizzy, explained very clearly that the show requires participants to go into filming with a sincere and genuine effort to put on a virtual marriage. It doesn’t require/demand/expect the pretend couple to fall in love for real, but it does preclude them from dating someone else during the filming and ruin the pretend marriage show facade.
This explanation sorta fits the whole Kim So Eun-Song Jae Rim discussion from last week – sure the show is make believe but there is an element of possibility that the production and cast intentionally dish out to the audience and that element of possible reel to real is what the whole point of the show is. I figured as much which is why the show isn’t for me, but it’s understandable for fans to get annoyed when participants get popular off doing the show but then don’t play by the rules. Back to poor Hong Jong Hyun, possibly stuck between virtual waifu Yura (above) and publicly professed “good friend” Nana (below). At least this proves Hong Jong Hyun doesn’t subscribe to Lee Min Ho‘s philosophy as Min Ho-sshi recently said in an interview that he doesn’t believe men and women can be just platonic good friends.
i saw his phone call with nana in style log and in that whole segment, he had more chemistry with nana than he had in all of wgm with yura
TOTALLY AGREED!!!!!
Then Lee Minho must be in one sided love with Park Boyoung because they are friends in public eyes for 8 years.
Viewer’s saw first hand that Nana and Jong Hyun were good friends when she helped him find his wife and came to his virtual wedding in the first few episodes. If, by some feat the rumor was true, then it would really be a bit too much to find out a man invited his lover to watch him get married, even if it wasn’t real. In addition, an ‘anonymous’ “close” friend says “Yes, it’s true, I’m surprised they denied it!”.. what kind of friend outs someone else’s relationship. The timing has a fishy stink to it.
to me, that the safe thing to do, asking your real life girlfriend to choose your on screen female partner. Sort of like he asked her permission from her. Nana choose the right girl, the girl that she’s not going to worry or jealous at. In real world many wifey or girlfriend of actor don’t care about bed secene/sex scene, kissing, etc, bc they know it’s their profession.
How is that safe? That’s unethical considering he had an agreement with WGM and more importantly, just, CREEPY. He’s not filming a drama or portraying a character in a story, he’s potraying his real-self in a faux-marriage; therefore, if the real him has no issue with his girlfriend befriending his wife, it would scream career-ender.
Nana did not pick/choose Yura. She helped him FIND her in the building. Check the first episode when Yura was waiting with Girls Day in a room. He had to search for her.
Strikes me as a Prince Charles/Camilla/Princess Di thing.
it’s all just wierd andd awkward… kick him off the show already!
I think this rumor is annoying only in the sense that they have no evidence to back up he is dating Nana… There’s no photo proofs or “couple accessories” found between them (well so far). It’s just an “insider” report from a good friend of their’s which makes no sense since what “good” friend would expose them like that if true?
Well I never believed in WGM I always knew it was heavily scripted. Especially since there are celebrities who dated in secret while filming this show. Like Oh Yeon Seo except she got caught while Nickhun dated Tiffany while filming it. Nickhun even wore the couple bracelet during the filming! But no one noticed cause they didn’t expect he would date Tiffany.
The main agenda is to ruin down Hong Jong Hyun……. a lot of things happen in his life and some people just jealous of him……
* he change his agency…
* his relationship wit Yura getting better….
* him getting more works and recognition from public.
This whole things could also just an article that want to DIVERT the public attention on something else in Korea just like what we see in the drama PINOCCHIO….
This rumour is baseless and ridiculous. Its just gonna do big damages to the poor Hong Jong Hyun’s carrier if they keep this up.
I’m definitely on the “fan” camp for once this time. Nana doesn’t deserve to get her name drag but HJH deserves all the flacks he get this time. It’s not a crime to date but the dude is getting paid to put on a virtual show where there only two requirements yet he failed them both. If a normal employee slack off at his job, he deserve to get criticism. HJH failed to keep his private life private and put on a less than desirable performance at his job by not pulling his weight. The only up-side is Yura got nothing to lose and it’s time WGM have a new couple.
I agree with @Annie above, the fans are not wrong to be annoyed if he is dating. Even Kim So Eun shows more chemistry and warmth with her fake husband onscreen so she makes at least that much effort.
Also completely ot, but Yura’s legs are so long, like that piggyback cap her figure is all legs lol. Just noticed.
I guess, if a dating rumor breaks out with Lee Min Ho, we all know “they are just just good friends” excuse won’t fly..
Anyway back to the couple, I don’t understand why would anyone go into a show like this if they have a gf. But who knows if he’s actually dating or not…
I’ve always known about the clause, it’s been in place since the show began; way back when the show first premiered (Crown J/Inyoung, Alex/Shinae, etc), and the show felt most sincere. However, it’s also been an act eventhough it intentionally blurs lines. I also believe most people try to stay within the guidleines of the contract, while others have such guarded secret relationships they can’t pass up the show.
I think the same is for HJH, regardless of what the truth may be. People choose their truth, therefore it doesn’t really matter whether they are dating or just close friends. It won’t change anyone’s mind. Just hope it doesn’t hurt anyone, their family or their careers.
You wrote: “WGM producers had to get involved this time and released a statement that all participants in WGM are required to sign a written oath not to be dating anyone else in real life during the filming because the show is about a virtual marriage and the participants are required to go into it with a sincere heart (their words, not mine)”
Since I don’t know Korean, I can only rely on translations, but when soompi wrote about this a few days ago, they included the following passage, attributing it as a direct quote from the WGM producers:
———————————–
“After a certain incident on ‘We Got Married,’ we get a contract form the cast saying that they will not engage in behavior that is not genuine
———————————–
Setting aside the irony of that “behaviour which is not genuine” bit, it was the opening phrase that caught my eye. “After a certain incident” – I wondered if that was a reference to Kim So Eun’s recent press conference. It’s definitely possiblke that her actions prompted them to scramble to close a loophople by adding a codicil that was previously there.
Maybe it is in reference to the Oh Yeon Seo and Lee Jang Woo mess.
Nah I’m pretty sure it’s Oh Yeon Seo too
Nah, everyone knows the “certain incident” is the infamous oh yeon soo – lee jang woo scandal where she was already partnered with lee joon on WGM but then rumors surfaced that the former couple were dating. The backlash that was received was enough to take the couple off the show.
Since then, they have been rather strict in making sure the participants are NOT dating anyone and making sure they sign a contract with that clause. They don’t want to risk another scandal.
As for kim so eun, the issue is not as big as many people are making it out to be. The intense shipping fandom is the reason why that line taken out of a one-on-one interview (not a press conference) even made headlines when it really shouldnt.
This is a bit unrelated but Yura looks like the actress playing Princess Pingyang in the chinese drama The Virtuous Queen of Han..
hmmm i don’t know about you guys here but actually the case about so eun-jae rim is not that big out there as in i don’t see a lot of people discussed about it and make a fuss about it except when i enter miss koala blog. and this is me that oftenly update korean ent news. and someone mention after certain incident the wgm producer make the no real life reel contract i do think that incident refers to oh yeon seo case since her case is quiet the same as hong jong hyun case. for those of you who have watched sbs roommate where nana is one of the cast she did say she have an eye on someone and somewhat pre-hinting that she is in ambiguos relationship with someone…
It’s actually not that big of a deal considering WGM producers have nothing to say about it and neither did kim so eun’s reps.
Also, many sites are translating the articles with the most negative feedback from netizens but the upvotes for them are no where near as many as the ones with positive feedback. Although she received backlash for it, the overall affect it has on them is not nearly as big of an issue as alot of people are making it seem.
They should add one other clause. Never tell the Press during WRM production that it is impossible for a couple romance become reality. All future couples have to be trained to give very tactful answers.
I believe in Jong Hyun for this one. Because there’s no picture proof of them dating when the news report some of their outing together, and it only based on a ‘close friend’ that I believe is not really a close friend. What kind of friend didn’t have a sense and say something that will bring down their friend?
Though from what I see in some variety, I think Jong Hyun isn’t really comfortable with Yura, but he always respect her and try to be the best partner for her. I also think that Jong Hyun is a very proffesional person from what I see (always try his best in every RM game) and try to separate some of his different work.
I know it is hard to control emotion, but can they just fulfill the wmg fan ship, then do whatever (dating, not have feeling with the co-star, etc..) when they finishing their time in wmg. Other couple have done it, pretend to be in love and then live their life separately afterward. When an entertainer agree to do wmg, I think it is fair to commit to the show (even if it is scripted, just pretend like u acting) and they should think twice since the show definitely gonna compromise with their private life.
With that said, I have seen some cold hjh’s reaction toward Yura (maybe that is how he is normally). Whether he really dating or not, once on the show, I think it is only fair for him to show some “interest” to boost their chemistry.
I applaud Lee Min Ho after reading this. He sort of says If you see me with a woman, then, you can bet she is not my BFF! We are dating or we are not friends! That has not hurt his career. He has rumored to date everyone of his costar actresses!
Something I don’t understand about these shows is why can’t production just place a disclaimer on the show and say the actors aren’t really romantically involved? Wouldn’t that end a lot of this? Apparently people really think these are true couples but we all know this was done through the manipulation of production.
waaah i love this couple btw T.T
HJH rumors are too much. The recent one, when he went to Hong Kong for fan sign. He met up with Nana and had bar-b-q together. do u think they are only friends?
do you really think theyre already dating before he started filming wgm with yura? i read from a comment above that nana said she’s in an ambiguous relationship with someone. when was this bbq incident? :O
HJH is absolutely adorable. Hope he finds his love.