Korean Newsmakers Of The Week: Lee Jae-wook-Karina's Dating Rumours, Song Kang's Military Enlistment Date And More

In the final week of February, the Korean entertainment scene found itself in the midst of many unexpected get-togethers. From popular actor Lee Jae-wook and aespa’s Karina getting together to renowned actor Song Kang announcing his military enlistment, we have you covered.

Here are the top five newsmakers in the entertainment industry of the week, all the way from South Korea.

JENNIE’s ‘SOLO’: 1st MV By A Female K-Pop Soloist To Hit 1 Billion Views

JENNIE has made a historic significant achievement on YouTube as the music video for her solo debut track ‘SOLO’ has surpassed 1 billion views on February 29, around 6 PM KST. Released on November 12, 2018, this feat makes ‘SOLO’ the first-ever K-pop music video by a female artist to reach the 1 billion mark, taking about five years, three months, and 20 days to achieve, as of today.

Military Enlistment Dates – Song Kang, Woo Jin-young, Hwang Min-hyun

Song Kang is all set to enlist in the military. On February 29, his agency, Namoo Actors, announced that the actor “will be enlisting as an active duty soldier of the [Republic of Korea] Army on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.” The former D1CE member, Woo Jin-young, took to his Instagram on February 24 to announce his enlistment. He said, “I have received the call of my country, and on March 4, 2024, I will be [starting] my military duty.” Lastly, actor-singer Hwang Min-hyun will also be going away to fulfill his mandatory military duties. His agency, PLEDIS Entertainment, passed a statement on February 29, which read, “We wish to share the news of Hwang Min-hyun’s upcoming enlistment into the military, scheduled for March 21, 2024.”

Karina And Lee Jae-wook Confirm Relationship

After various speculations and rumours, it’s confirmed that popular actor Lee Jae-wook and K-Pop girl group aespa’s member Karina are in a relationship. The actor’s agency, C-JeS Studios, passed a statement on February 27, which stated, “The two are getting to know each other.” The singer’s agency, SM Entertainment, also made a similar comment, which said, “Karina and Lee Jae-wook are getting to know each other.” As per various reports, their romantic relationship started to blossom after they first interacted at a fashion show overseas in January and their bond deepened as they spent more time together back in Seoul.

Lee Know Becomes The Youngest Member Of World Vision’s Honor Club

On February 28, World Vision revealed that Stray Kids’ member Lee Know has become a member of the Bob Pierce Honor Club, a distinguished group of major donors. His contributions include generously donating ₩100 million to aiding children in poor nations affected by food shortages, and actively participating in emergency relief efforts after major earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. Additionally, since 2014, he has been sponsoring children both in Korea and abroad. Cho Myung-hwan, the Chairman of World Vision, expressed, “Lee Know, who showed consistent interest and support for children in need, became the youngest member of the Bob Pierce Honor Club. We will work harder so that Lee Know’s kind influence can be conveyed well through World Vision.”

BTS’ V And Jackie Chan Get Together For An Ad

An unexpected crossover between Jackie Chan and BTS’ V has sent fans into frenzy. The two icons teamed up for a commercial for the Indonesian securities company SimInvest. The 63-second ad depicts the two stars sitting on a dining table and also includes a playful segment where V demonstrates his dancing skills to Jackie with the latter imparting some kung-fu moves on the BTS member.