K-pop icons Super Junior's Hee-chul and Twice's Momo are officially a couple
On January 2, Super Junior's Kim Hee-chul and Twice's Momo announced that they were the first idol couple of the year, sending K-pop fans into meltdown on social media and across the world.
Hee-chul and Momo had previously been dating in secret despite the intense scrutiny surrounding them and had denied the relationship rumors as recently as August 2019, but now both the pop stars' labels have officially released statements, confirming that they are successfully dating, despite their busy schedules. They're said to be very supportive of each other's careers in the entertainment industry.
Label SJ, the exclusive label established in 2015 by South Korean record label SM Entertainment for 10-member boy band Super Junior, of which Hee-chul is a part of, stated: "Hello, this is Label SJ. We have confirmed with Hee-chul and Momo that they have recently started dating from being a close sunbae and hoobae. Thank you."
JYP Entertainment, the South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate, which has the nine-member Twice on their roster, stated: "Hello, this is JYP Entertainment. We are confirming that Hee-chul and Momo are in a relationship. They have recently started a relationship that grew from a sunbae-hoobae friendship in the industry. Thank you."
If you're confused by the Korean phrase, "sunbae-hoobae" friendship, don't be. It simply means that one of them had more experience in the music industry than the other, and the less-experienced "hoobae" generally looks up to the "sunbae" for advice or mentorship.
"Sunbae" in Korean is in reference to people with more experience in any sphere of life, like work, school, etc, and "hoobae" is in reference to people with less experience in that field. Generally, hoobaes have to use "jondaetmal" aka "honorific language" when speaking to sunbaes, meaning they have to talk with respect and treat them very politely. Well, now Hee-chul and Momo are each other's bae!
We're sure that the members of ELF and Once will be super excited to hear this news too! Super Junior fans are called "ELF" because it stands for Everlasting Friends, and Twice fans are called "Once" because... well, we don't need to tell you twice! Join us in wishing hearty congratulations to the new couple!
