The undeniable chemistry, steamy kisses, and romance that occurs in popular K-dramas might have fans wondering if it's all for the cameras. In truth, spending hours and hours with a co-star, filming kissing scenes, emotional moments and romance, can cause the heart to flutter in real life.
Fans of K-dramas and Korean culture, in general, are aware that two celebrities dating is usually kept under wraps and it's not often that their relationship is made public. So, some may be surprised that the leading couples in well-known dramas actually dated in real life. In some cases, these on-screen couples dated off-screen and are even now married.
Ji Sung & Lee Bo-Young (Save The Last Dance For Me)
Actors Ji Sung and Lee Bo-Young played the characters Kang Hyun-Woo and Yoon Soo-Jin in Save the Last Dance For Me in the 2004 drama. In it, Bo-Young's character, Soo-Jin, is the soon-to-be-fiancé of Hyun-Woo, but gets her love stolen by the main female character.
Soo-Jin and Hyun-Woo don't end up together in the drama, but the real-life actors did. Ji Sung and Bo-Young announced their relationship in 2007 and later their engagement in 2013. The couple got married on September 27, 2013, and had their first child in 2015. To this day, they are still married and had their second child in 2019.
Ahn Jae-Hyun & Goo Hye-Sun (Blood)
There are a handful of popular K-dramas centered around vampires and one of the most recognized is Blood from 2015. The drama centers around a talented doctor who keeps his vampire identity a secret, but soon falls in love with another doctor. Actor Ahn Jae-Hyun plays the role of Park Ji-Sang, while his co-star Ku Hye-Sun plays his love interest, Lee Jae-Wook.
The on-screen couple revealed to have been dating for a year after the show's premiere. In 2016, the two actors tied the knot in a private ceremony. Only a year later in 2019, it was announced that the two would be getting a divorce, and according to scmp.com, that the split was a surprise on Hye-Sun's part.
Lee Min-Ho & Park Min-Young (City Hunter)
Actors Lee Min-Ho and Park Min-Youn are some of the industry's most well-known K-drama actors. Fans will recall Min-Young for her roles in a couple of "falling in love with the boss" K-dramas. Min-Ho is often recognized for his role in Heirs and The King: Eternal Monarch.
Both actors were the stars of the 2011 action/romance drama, City Hunter. While working together on set, feelings started to blossom and the actors decided to explore a relationship after the show ended. But due to conflicting schedules, Soompi reported that the couple called it quits a year later.
Kim-Bum & Moon Geun-Young (Goddess Of Fire)
Goddess Of Fire is a historical K-romance from 2013 that stars the actors, Kim-Bum and Moon Geun-Young. The drama centers around a talented artist who falls in love with a prince during the Joseon Dynasty. Kim-Bum plays one of the lead roles and is in a love triangle with Moon Geun-Young's character. In 2013, fans speculated that Kim-Bum and Geun-Young were dating after they were seen vacationing together in Europe.
The rumors of them dating were later confirmed by both their agencies. After roughly seven months, the couple broke off their relationship, as confirmed by their agencies and told to Soompi, but still remain colleagues and friends.
Park Si-Eun & Jin Tae-Hyun (Hold My Hand)
Actors Park Si-Eun and Jin Tae-Hyun originally met on the set of Pure Pumpkin Flower in 2010 as co-stars. Three years later, the actors would once again work together on a drama/romance soap opera titled, Hold My Hand. The couple started dating and tied the knot in 2015.
In 2019, the couple adopted a college-age daughter and shared their heartwarming story on social media, shared by Soompi. On their honeymoon in 2015, the couple visited an orphanage and took a liking to a young girl who was in high school at the time. After some consideration, the couple decided to no longer act as her aunt and uncle, but officially as her parents.
Ki Tae-Young & Eugene (Creating Destiny)
Creating Destiny is one of the must-watch K-dramas from the early 2000s. It's highly loved for its comedic and romantic story between Han Sang-Eun and Kim Yeo-Joo, played by actors Eugene and Ki Tae-Young. In real life, the idol-turned-actor Eugene and her co-star Tae-Young developed a bond on set.
The couple married in 2011 and have two young daughters. The actors are quite popular as they have appeared in one of Korea's top variety/reality shows, The Return of Superman. Currently, Eugene is receiving high praise for her outstanding role in the hit drama, Penthouse. This lovey-dovey couple is the epitome of romance and isn't afraid to flaunt it, again, as seen on Soompi.com.
Nam Joo-Hyuk & Lee Sung-Kyung (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo)
The cute and lovable couple from the teen K-drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo dated in real life. The 2016 K-drama became well known for its unforgettable comedic moments. Above all, fans adored the fun and heartwarming relationship between Kim Bok-Joo and Jung Joon-Hyung, played by actors Lee Sung-Kyung and Nam Joo-Hyuk.
Joo-Hyuk and Sung-Kyung originally met years before dating from their days in the modeling business. While working on the drama, their feelings grew and became something real off-screen. News initially spread in 2017 that the couple broke up, but recent reports in 2021, as reported by Channel-Korea.com, claim that they just recently called it off.
Lee Hye-Ri & Ryu Jun-Yeol (Reply 1988)
Reply 1988 is one of the most popular K-dramas when it comes to romance and the dreaded "second-lead syndrome." This couple is a slight cheat, as the two show characters, Sung Duk-Seon and Kim Jung-Hwan, played by actors Lee Hye-Ri and Ryu Jeon-Yeol, don't end up together in the drama.
Instead, the character Jung-Hwan was in love with Duk-Seon but was always a second too late. While Duk-Seon chose someone else, real-life actor Hye-Ri chose her co-star, Jeon-Yeol. The two actors met onset and confirmed their relationship in 2017. In 2021, rumors circulated on Cosmo.ph that the couple broke up, but they were seen shortly after on a secret date.
Song Joong-Ki & Song Hye-Kyo (Descendants Of The Sun)
Actor Song Joon-Ki is now the talk of the town, having starred as Vincenzo Cassano in the hit Netflix original K-Drama, Vincenzo. The actor created some buzz when it was rumored that he was dating his Descendants of the Sun co-star and love interest, Song Hye-Kyo in 2016. Many fans shipped the couple and tagged them the "SongSong couple."
Rumors circulated about their relationship until the actors surprised everyone with a wedding announcement and they tied the knot in 2017. But in 2019, news hit that the couple was getting divorced, reasoning that they simply grew apart and had changing personalities. Both actors stay busy with their personal lives and careers, as reported by scmp.com.
Hyun-Bin and Son Ye-Jin (Crash Landing On You)
Fans were over the moon when they heard the news that the riveting on-screen couple of Crash Landing On You became a real-life romance. As a New Year's treat, according to Soompi, Hyun-Bin and Son Ye-Jin's respective agencies confirmed in 2021 that the two actors are dating.
K-Drama fans were overjoyed to hear that the two had positive feelings for each other while filming. Once the drama ended, they decided to enter into a relationship and even bonded over golf. CLOY wasn't the first project the two actors worked together, as they starred in the 2018 thriller movie, The Negotiation.