Trending Now: This entertainment story covers the latest buzz, reactions, and updates surrounding Trending Now: Kim Woo-bin, Shin Min-a join ranks of long-term celebrity couples finally getting married – Fans React..
From left, Kim Woo-bin, Shin Min-a, Yoon Sun-woo and Kim Ga-eun, Seven and Lee Da-hae / Xportsnews
The Korean entertainment world is buzzing this month, and not only because top actors Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-a are getting married after a decade of dating. Their wedding has unexpectedly revived global interest in a uniquely Korean trend: celebrity couples who date quietly — often for seven to 10 years — before finally tying the knot.
Kim and Shin will hold a private ceremony on Dec. 20 in Seoul with family and close friends. Their agency, AM Entertainment, said, “Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-a promised to become lifelong partners based on the deep trust they have built over many years.”
Shin Min-a, left, and Kim Woo-bin / Xportsnews
Kim, born in 1989, and Shin, born in 1984, went public with their relationship in 2015. Over the past decade, they have earned praise in Korea for keeping their romance low-drama and for their steady philanthropy, leading fans to call them a “model couple.”
Their wedding has now sparked broader public attention toward other long-term celebrity relationships — many of which lasted nearly a decade before marriage, a pattern that differs from the often shorter span of high-profile Hollywood romances.
A deeper trend: Korean celebrity couples who date for years in private
One example is singer Jung-in and musician Jo Jung-chi, who married in 2013 after 11 years of dating. They are now parents to two children. At the time, they made headlines for announcing that they would skip a traditional wedding ceremony entirely. Instead, Jung-in hiked to the peak of Jirisan wearing a veil, and the couple sealed their marriage with a kiss overlooking the mountains — an unconventional gesture that drew widespread attention.
Jung-in and Jo Jung-chi / Captured from Jung-in’s social media
Singer Seven and actress Lee Da-hae also married after eight years together. Despite their long relationship, they rarely posted photos together on social media or appeared as a couple on television, maintaining a level of privacy that stands in stark contrast to Western celebrity culture. In March 2023, they surprised fans by releasing a flood of wedding photos along with their marriage announcement. Their ceremony became a major entertainment highlight, featuring a star-studded guest list including BIGBANG’s G-Dragon, Daesung and Taeyang; members of 2NE1; and top TV personalities. Taeyang, Gummy and Bada performed congratulatory songs, while comedians Kim Jun-ho and Jo Se-ho hosted the event.
Seven and Lee Da-hae / Captured from their social media
In another case, actors Yoon Sun-woo and Kim Ga-eun, who met while filming a KBS drama in 2015, married last month after 10 years of dating. Their relationship was so private that not a single dating rumor surfaced throughout the decade.
Other long-term couples include actors Hwang Bo-ra and Cha Hyun-woo, born Kim Young-hoon — the son of veteran actor Kim Yong-gun and younger brother of actor Ha Jung-woo — who married in 2022 after 10 years together. Actor Namgoong Min and model Jin Ah-reum also wed in October 2022 after seven years of dating.
This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.