Controversial Stars’ Friendships Receive Unfavorable Responses: From Han So-hee To Jo Byung-gyu

On April 23rd, Jo Byung-gyu announced that he would release a song collaborating with singer B.I. The actor confirmed that he already finished recording the song composed by B.I and was filming a music video in Jeju, adding that the release date of the song has yet to be decided. 

Jo Byung-gyu is appearing in the YouTube hip-hop survival program “Rap Cup” as an MC. In fact, the actor has always shown his love for hip-hop music but he never mentioned his friendship with B.I. Knowing the two are active in completely different fields, netizens were very surprised upon hearing the news of their collaboration.

Jo Byung-gyu debuted in 2015 in KBS2’s drama “School 2015” and became known to the public after starring in JTBC’s “SKY Castle” in 2018. He successfully established his presence as a rising actor after leading OCN’s drama “The Uncanny Counter” (2021). While on the rise, Jo Byung-gyu suspended activities due to a school violence controversy that suddenly broke out in 2021. After two years of hiatus, the actor made a comeback with “The Uncanny Counter 2”. Since the incident has not been solved completely, public opinion toward him is still negative.

B.I debuted as a member of YG’s boy group iKON in 2015 but withdrew in 2019 due to a drug scandal. In 2016, he was sentenced to three years in suspended prison and four years of probation for purchasing LSD and administering part of it. Before the issue, B.I played a very important role as the leader and producer of his group. As such, many people were disappointed by his scandal. He also stopped activities for several years but the negative image remains even after his comeback.

Han So-hee is also being criticized for her friendship with a controversial actress. On April 22nd, she released a photo taken with Jeon Jong-seo without a caption. The picture shows the two actresses lying side by side on the bed with their faces covered, but Han So-hee revealed Jeon Jong-seo’s identity by tagging her account. Jeon Jong-seo and Han So-hee are same-age friends as both were born in 1994. Since the two have never worked together on any projects, the public did not expect them to know each other in real life. However, criticism over their friendship immediately arose due to Jeon Jong-seo’s school violence suspicions. 

Earlier on April 4th, a netizen exposed Jeon Jong-seo’s school violence behaviors. In fact, the issue has been raised several times since 2021 but they were all buried. Jeon Jong-seo’s agency denied the allegations and announced legal action but the controversy has not yet been resolved until now.

In the case of Han So-hee, she sparked controversies last month after confirming her romantic relationship with actor Ryu Jun-yeol. Amid transit love rumors, the actress posted various explanations and expressed her feelings on SNS, causing netizens to criticize her careless reactions. As soon as the public forgot about her dating scandal, Han So-hee disappointed everyone again by showing off her friendship with another controversial actress Jeon Jong-seo.