Announcement: bits and bobs (Patreon)

Hi my friends,

Just a quickish announcement post to touch on a few things:

1. Spoiler-free zone + Deep Dive zone

A couple of you have been discussing the benefits of there being 2 general spaces to talk about dramas that aren't being covered here on Patreon, with one being a spoiler-free zone, and the other being a place where you can deep dive into various dramas, spoilers and all.

Given how the Drama Exchange has evolved since its inception, this sounds like a really good idea (thanks Merij, for thinking of it!).

From next month onwards, I'll create two posts, for exactly those purposes. 

To tide us over until next month, I'll create a Spoiler-free zone for the rest of October, which will go up shortly. 

PS: It'd probably be a good idea to keep on using spoiler warnings in the Deep Dive zone, since you guys will be talking about more than one drama. 

2. The rising Kim Seon Ho controversy

I'm not sure if you guys have come across this yet, but if you haven't, you probably will, soon enough. Basically, there are rumors flying that Kim Seon Ho convinced his ex-girlfriend to get an abortion by promising that he'd marry her, and then broke up with her, after she got the abortion (allkpop article here). 

It's hard to say how this will all go down, since just 24 hours ago, he was only rumored to be the "Actor K" mentioned in the allegations, but now, even though no confirmation has come forth from either him or his agency, everyone's talking as if it's fact, that he is the actor involved. 

Brands that Kim Seon Ho is (was?) endorsing have deleted his images from their Instagram accounts, and it's been reported that media interviews with members of the Hometown Cha Cha Cha cast have been canceled. This includes interviews not only with Kim Seon Ho himself, but also co-stars Shin Min Ah and Lee Sang Yi. 

I'm really enjoying Hometown Cha Cha Cha, and really don't want to drop the show because of a scandal that exploded after the show completed its run, so I'm going to try to block all this out, so that I can keep on enjoying the show. (Basically, LALALA I can't hear you! 🙉😅)

HOWEVER. If you guys are uncomfortable with Hometown Cha Cha Cha being covered here on Patreon because of this unfortunate turn of events, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

As always, thanks for being here, and thanks too, for not only enjoying this space, but helping to shape it as well. Much love!

KFG ❤️

Edit (20 Oct, 11:54am): 

As requested, here are some updates that I've come across since first publishing this post.

Kim Seon Ho has come out with an apology, so this confirms that he is the "Actor K" mentioned in the articles. 

Another point of interest, is, the timeline of the events is unclear. 

While the original post makes it look like he broke up with her right after the abortion, it's looking like that is not the case. The marriage promise was made with a view to getting married in 2 years' time, and there are also allegations that he became irritable towards her after the abortion. I'm also seeing some people point out that he broke up with his ex-girlfriend almost a year after the abortion took place. 

All this to say, it looks like there may not be a direct causal relationship, between the abortion and the break-up. As many of us would know from personal experience, a lot can go wrong in a relationship, leading a couple to break up.

At the same time, the scandal is still raging, and Kim Seon Ho is definitely in a bit of a pickle.

Update (20 October, 9:40pm):

Kim Seon Ho's ex-girlfriend has come out to say that she's received an apology from Kim Seon Ho, and now she feels sorry for the damage that her original post caused, saying that there were misunderstandings between her and Kim Seon Ho (koreaboo article here).

It's possible that she blew everything out of proportion in a fit of anger; it's also possible that the parties reached a private settlement and this is her way of doing some damage control. 

In the end, I agree with what many of you have expressed. This is a private, delicate, complicated matter between two individuals, and should never have been blown into a public scandal. In particular, I agree with those of you who said that you can't force a marriage, and that people can and do change their minds about marriage (before or after they're married). Hopefully this latest statement from the ex-girlfriend will help things to blow over. 

Update (26 October, 2pm):

Dispatch has weighed in on the matter, and well, Dispatch really is like some kind of secret service, of k-ent. Basically, if Dispatch would use their skills to solve crime, they'd be cleaning up the streets of Korea faster than the police and the military put together. 😅

And Dispatch is now casting doubt on the ex-girlfriend, and Dispatch has text messages and witness accounts to back up their case. Looks like Kim Seon Ho might have his career salvaged after all..? 

koreaboo article is here.

Update (28 October, 10:30pm):

It looks like Kim Seon Ho's career may recover after all, even though k-netizens were reportedly not convinced by Dispatch's article on the matter. Mask brand MIIMA has brought back Kim Seon Ho's ads on its website and various other social media platforms. 

koreanboo article is here.