Karina: Why one of K-pop’s biggest stars has been forced to apologise to fans for having a boyfriend

A K-pop star has apologised for having a boyfriend after her furious fans accused her of “betrayal”. The incensed fans accused the 23-year-old Karina of betraying them after they found out she was dating actor Lee Jae-wook. In the K-pop industry, idols’ careers are greatly dependent on their public image, and dating controversies can have a profound effect on their professional life. “They want to sell idols that appear to be, at least in an imaginary sense, romantically obtainable. Fans can imagine themselves in some form of social relationship with this idol,” sociologist Patrick Williams of NTU in Singapore told BBC last year.

Click here to read the article.