Netizens have mixed reactions to Seohyun starring in “Love and Leashes”: Does it ruin her image?

Some Korean netizens think Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun shouldn’t have filmed Netflix’s adult romance movie. 

“Love and Leashes” starring Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun as the female lead is drawing mixed reviews because of its sensitive BDSM theme. This is said to negatively affect the innocent, clean image that Seohyun was known for over the past 10 years. 

Some comments:

• I turned off the movie while I was watching it. I seriously couldn’t watch the scene where the male lead barks like a dog.
• Where did Seohyun’s pure maknae image go…
• Seohyun has been working hard to move past her “innocent maknae” image since You Think. How old is she now? She is an adult doing adult things!
• Seriously, Seohyun has long been known for her pretty, pure, and spotless image… I enjoy her mature look, but this is different from being mature… I was taken aback when I came across a video of her on Facebook
• I think people need to understand that she’s an actress and actors’ characters have nothing to do with their real-life selves. It’s good that she’s working hard and challenging herself with new roles.

In fact, Love And Leashes doesn’t have any explicit sex scenes, but the concept of BDSM is quite difficult to absorb for the general audience. Roleplaying by pretending to be pets, saying provocative things, doing actions to discipline their partners,… are all scenes that can make the viewers get goosebumps. In the film, Seohyun plays a female office worker who accidentally discovers her new male colleague’s strange hobby and agrees to be his “master”.