Dear Gossips,

It was about a year ago now that I started mentioning a Korean drama on Netflix called Crash Landing on You. The series premiered in mid-December and the obsession started from there; I’m not just talking about me – Crash Landing on You was a global smash hit with billions of views from around the world, proving Bong Joon-ho’s quote that is, today, exactly a year old:

If you haven’t watched Crash Landing on You yet… well… as I mentioned yesterday, with production stalling in Hollywood due to the pandemic, consumers could eventually be experiencing a slowdown in the English-language content pipeline but there’s a huuuuuge library of content that is waiting for you to discover if you’re willing to overcome that “once inch barrier”. And there’s an added bonus for you in coming to it late…

Because those who know the magic that is CLOY have been shipping its two leads, Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, since it started…and on New Year’s Day, the two confirmed that they’ve been dating since wrapping on the series. This is a HUGE gossip story, as big of a deal to people as Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams falling in love after The Notebook – and I don’t need to tell you the gossip impact of that romance, how personally invested it seemed the audience was in their screen-to-real-life relationship, almost as though it was willed into existence by fans of the story. That applies to Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin too.

In the west, fan investment in a celebrity romance is, generally, discouraged by the celebrities themselves. It’s not exactly the same in South Korea. Both Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin’s agencies released statements to formally confirm that the two are now dating – which is probably weird to those who exclusively follow western celebrity gossip. But seriously, check out the comment that came from Hyun Bin’s reps. And by the way, he’s one of the highest paid actors in South Korea and he’s won multiple acting awards so he’s a major star, with both critical and commercial success:

“Actors Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin met through their projects, and after the end of their drama, their positive feelings towards one another developed into a romantic relationship.” The agency added, “We ask that you look warmly upon their relationship and cheer them on in the future.”

Wild, right?

Can you imagine Harry Styles’s publicist releasing a statement now that we all know he and Olivia Wilde are dating and being like, Harry and Olivia’s positive feelings for one another developed during filming and we ask that you root for their romance!

It’s a good example of how star systems function differently and how the Hollywood ecosystem isn’t necessarily the standard for operating procedure. So if you haven’t already, surprise your algorithm and check out Crash Landing on You. And if you have, well, I’m pretty sure you’re deep in your tenth re-watch by now.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Son Ye-jin Gossip

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