The Truth About Why Korean Actors Get Less Hate For Dating Than K-Pop Idols

K-Pop idols have always been under strict guidelines, as they seemingly get criticized by netizens for many things, such as dating. It seems that Korean actors don’t face as much hate for dating when compared to idols.

A reason for this could be due to the whole nature of K-Pop and their fans. A lot of times, companies try to give off a “fantasy” about K-Pop idols.

However, when it comes to idols, those lines between “role” and “person” seem to blur for fans. Because the music industry is more interactive with fans—concerts, meet-and-greets, award shows, etc.—fans start to think that the “role” an idol plays is the person they actually are, and that’s not right. Actors, by the nature of their work, are more “detached” from their fans than idols. By “detached”, I mean that a movie or show isn’t a personal experience like the way a song or concert is.

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K-Pop companies usually try to push a narrative that their idols are all single and innocent. Companies also try to push a narrative that fans have a chance to date these idols, which can cause fans to have fantasies of dating them. Once idols start dating and this fantasy is broken, fans feel a sense of betrayal and seemingly stop supporting. This isn’t the case for actors, as they are more dependant on the general public to help boost the views and ratings of their respective film projects rather than fans.

Also, actors usually have a fandom with people of diverse ages, so a large number of their fandom are at an age where they don’t care about dating news. A lot of K-Pop fans are usually in their early teens, so they are at an age where they are more likely to be affected by dating news, as a lot of young fans have fantasies of dating their favorite idols.