Why do celebrities lie about marriage & kids?

[aures.livejournal.com]

"Lee Jae-hoon of mixed gender K-pop group Cool revealed Wednesday he married his girlfriend in 2009 and has two children. It took 11 years for the singer to make the confession.

Lee told a local media outlet that he did not mean to conceal it, but had no place or chance to speak about his private life.
Singer Lee Jae-hoon said he married in 2009 and has two kids.

The revelation came only two days after actor Sung Joon delivered similar news. The actor, who is doing his obligatory military service, disclosed that he tied the knot with his "love of life" just before joining the army in December 2018 and has a child. He could not hold a wedding ceremony because of his impending military enlistment.

Both stars said they were cautious about going public since their wives are not celebrities and are unaccustomed to opening up about themselves.

But is there another reason for the concealment?

The stars' fear of losing popularity could be a big reason, according to Kwon Young-chan, a comedian-turned-psychologist.

"Numerous celebrities believe that marriage will lead to a fall in their popularity," Kwon told The Korea Times, Wednesday. "For them, losing popularity means losing fans who bring them economic gains."

He added: "Many followers, especially those who are young and unmarried, tend to regard their stars as 'dream lovers.' Hence, once they learn that the celebrities are married, they can easily turn away."

Lee has a solid fandom, so this may have been the rationale behind his belated announcement, Kwon said.

"It must have been extremely stressful for Lee to hide his family for 11 years," Kwon said. "He couldn't hang around with his wife and children freely because of the public eye. The singer might also have isolated himself from the others, fearing his secret might be revealed."

But for the stars, domestic bliss is essential.

"Celebrities with a happy domestic life are less likely to get mired in scandals, since the family members provide them stability," Kwon said."

- Article By Dong Sun-hwa

Source: Koreatimes

Omona, what do you think about celebrities hiding their families?

Comments

[volume1995.livejournal.com]

ELEVEN YEARS?!!!?!!? WOW

[greasetastic-x.livejournal.com]

On one hand i understand why a celeb in Korea would want to hide their relationships due to fan reaction. But on the other hand, i think it's really sad?

Idk i kind of feel like kcelebs have to be a part of normalizing them being in relationships. We need more people like Hyuna and E'Dawn going around just unabashedly in love dispite criticisms. We need more people just willing to say that they're in a relationship even if they don't go the super public route like Hyuna and E'Dawn. They need to stop perpetuating the idea that they're only for their fans.

Will they still lose some fans here and there? Sure. But there will always be more people that stay around and support them than those that leave.

[kris-terror.livejournal.com]

I'm most curious to see how Twice's next comeback goes now that two of the most popular members are in confirmed relationships with other idols. They're certainly not as open and public as Hyuna and Dawn, but I think only once the idols in larger companies start being accepted publicly dating will it start to get normalized. Cause folks can argue that Hyuna's always been controversial~*~* and ultimately they were both booted from Cube for the whole thing.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

it will be the same probably something directed to female fans ... this is twice fifth year since debut so having members dating publicly is part of group development to their "mature era", its expected but nothing really new or weird .. its efective to get female fans sympathy and proved way to avoid young male fans
you should know momo and jihyo arent exactly the most populars members of twice in korea , jihyo is actually the least popular between kfans (like fans stated in other articles, general korean public reaction would be very diferent if the ones dating were nayeon, sana,mina or tzuyu) unpopular members openly dating is a safe way to give a grown up image to ggs without damaging the actual popular members

in kpop industry groups have 5 years to hit big before general publics gets bored of them and agency gives up on them as well , twice already achieved more than jyp expected from them so from now on they're expected to start developing solo careers and focus in getting more female fans because that could give a longer run to group

[kris-terror.livejournal.com]

Oh dang, here I was thinking Momo was hella popular in Korea.

Thanks for all this info too, I'm always trying to be better about separating my understanding as an i-fan vs. actual sentiment in Korea.

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

no problem
you werent that wrong tho, momo is popular between non-korean fans (seem like all foreigner members are more popular than jihyo who saddly is unpopular in both korea and outside korea) ... thing is non-asian fans opinion isnt a priority for kpop agencies 😅

yeah, its kinda sad how we ifans have to separate & learn the diference between what happens in korean fandom and what we see here in occident countries

[sjtaazrz.livejournal.com]

I remember when Jihyo's dating news broke and some people were fairly positive. There were Korean comments like "You wouldn't be so supportive if it were Nayeon or Sana," and When Momo confirmed she was dating, like a year later, there were the same comments like "if it were Sana or Nayeon, people wouldn't be so accepting."

I definitely think things didn't blow up as much as they could've because they aren't the super popular members in Korea. It'd be the same of Yeri from Red Velvet had a dating rumor verses Irene. It depends on how strongly fans hold on to this fantasy of their idol image.

[greasetastic-x.livejournal.com]

I will say though, Edawn and Hyuna didn't get ousted because of fan reaction. Cube was being petty. the couple went public when Cube denied it just hours earlier, and Cube punished them for it.

[jaequeeragenda.livejournal.com]

Speaks volumes about fan culture in korea lol

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

The culture of fan entitlement is crazy.
All these people lining up at fan signs to shake your hand and give you gifts after having spent so much money to buy their way in. It’s crazy to me. It demeans your art and makes you a product. Another cog in the wheel of the bulldozer that is capitalism.

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

i wish they didn't have to hide, not only bc it would make their lives better but bc i would be so excited to learn that one of my favs was getting married or having kids. unless their partner is someone super gross i guess.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

It's ridiculous that they have to hide their relationships. People should be allowed to date or marry without losing fans or having their privacy violated.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

We all know why.
I don't blame them.

[swhyeon1991.livejournal.com]

I mean wbk lol? I thought this was going to be about him explaining himself why he just decided to come out now but okay. And it's not like he's a currently active popular idol in his 20s anyway. Other Korean celebs his age (I mean he's in his 40s) show off their relationship or family just fine so I kind of still find his family coming out news a bit weird. Imagine the anxiety all this time.

[neongoldtooth.livejournal.com]

I would say lee jaehoon and sung joon are in two different positions and I think more ppl are checking on sing joon then a first gen idol. Also for someone who isn’t promoting why air out that you got married to the general public? I don’t think he was intentionally hiding it as much as he just didn’t do a press releases when it happened. And idk if sung joon is still popular but an actor getting married or having a baby versus an idol is still different as well.

[kcaomei.livejournal.com]

you'd think that after a certain amount of time/the celeb reaching a certain age that people wouldn't bat an eye. their fan culture is really something else cause i feel like after a celeb has been around a long time/is no longer as active/reaches their 30s+ you would logically just assume these people will be getting married and having kids? lmao

[sra-interesante.livejournal.com]

actual adults hiding their private life in an attempt to not offende or trigger fans its probably one of most pathetic aspects of idol/korean celebs culture 🙄🙄🙄

i think its result of this very toxic fandom culture .. in one hand korean celebs enjoy cultivating this unrealistic perfect image because this mean their fans loyalty to follow and even protect them no matter what, meanwhile fans enjoy fooling themselves in the delusion they're following the next mesias lol when you analyze certain fandoms behaviour this resemble a lot to sects members mentality... which is both creepy and fascinating (added to the fact sects are common in korea)


most korean celebs are too afraid of all the power their own fans have over them 🤷 its like when they say "costumer is always right" , whoever visites korea knows they have a extreme costumer service culture ... in korea costumer not always is right, costumer becomes your boss , costumer can get you fired ... korean entertaiment applies the same logic: fans are costumers and celebs are just employees trying to not get fired not matter what costumer/fans requires to keep buying💁

[daynr.livejournal.com]

Of course the fact that many think they can't tell is wild and sad....

But I also am starting to feel a sense of exploitation from the artists, since they participate in a boyfriend fan experience. I don't know about these individuals, and I don't really blame newbie teenage artists, but some of the more senior idols . . Stop calling fans gfs and stuff.

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

Many followers, especially those who are young and unmarried, tend to regard their stars as 'dream lovers.'

and this is what I hate. poor guy hiding something so big and personal for 11 years.

[apathycollusion.livejournal.com]

Oh the irony of my recent post and this post. Honestly I feel for actors it's a bit easier to be like "I'm in a relationship" vs. an idol. However, once they get married and have kids, I do feel like some fans act entitled as if they were the ones to have a chance lmfao.

Whereas in America, couples be breaking up/having affairs/divorcing/having multiple kids with different parents and it doesn't really affect their popularity. I wonder how it is in Japan and China since I notice a lot of actors/actresses have settled down and there still popular. Again, depends on the person too and how well regarded they are as well.