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K-pop History 101: Younger men – Older women love affair

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Written by On February 19, 2009

You probably know by now that 34 year-old Choi Ji Woo is currently dating actor Lee Jin Wook who is six years her junior. And though the couple has yet to officially announce their two-year relationship, netizens have already expressed their support and well wishes for the couple.

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This is not the first time we’ve heard news about a May-December pairing. The D.I.S.C.O spelling diva, Uhm Jung Hwa went out with model turned actor Jeon Jun Hong who is eight years younger than her. Not to be left behind with this “cougar trend” is actress 26 year-old Kim Min Hee who is currently with one of G-Dragon’s scene friends, the 20 year-old model Lee Su Hyuk.

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Though the younger man-older woman relationship is still a major taboo in some countries, Korea seems to be embracing it.

Singers, like the 20 year-old Lee Seunggi, have made a career out of wooing a hapless noona (a term of endearment for an older woman; older sister). His now infamous debut song “Because You’re My Girl” in 2004, created a major “liking for an older woman syndrome” all over Korea.

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SM Entertainment then took the road that Seunggi paved and cemented it when they released SHINee into the K-pop jungle on May 2008. The group was an instant hit with their debut song “Replay (Noona, You’re So Pretty)”. Thanks to these jailbaits, we now have a new breed of crazy older fangirls who sadly and fondly call themselves the “Pedo Noonas”. Go figure.

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Even in fictional terms, the yun ha nam (younger boyfriend) is a good selling point. Dramas like “My Lovely Kim Sam Soon” and “Dal Ja’s Spring” made waves all over Asia for its quirky take of the younger man-older woman love affair. Then there’s the Hyunjoong-Hwangbo pairing. Back in the day when “We Got Married” was still the show to watch, audiences tuned in weekly just to see these two go from completely awkward to almost in love in their make-believe marriage.

And of course, let’s not forget the latest and most sensationalized act of “cougarism” in recent k-pop history: Lee Hyori and Big Bang.

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Lee Hyori did everything she can with these youngins from kissing a 20 year-old TOP to leg caressing with a barely legal Seungri. That performance made headlines in every news site in Korea for more than a week. Fans went crazy. MKMF made money. And the head of Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs lost sufficient amounts of sleep.

Ah, good times.

So you see, Choi Ji Woo has got nothing to hide. K-pop history has taught us that it’s good to be a cougar in k-pop.

. . .

How about you, are you willing to date a younger guy? If you can date any younger man in k-pop, who would it be and why? Also, how young are you willing to go? Or better yet, how comfortable are you with the thought of going to jail?

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  • http://www.maltese-dogs.org/maltese-dog-tick-treatment Lucius Benkosky

    You’re one of a kind. Thanks for posting this. Your opinion made me think.

  • Xenia

    I date a guy two years younger. My maximum was almost 5 years younger (his 18 to my 23 at that moment), but it didn’t last long. Age of consent in Russia is 16, so I don’t worry about law.

    There is nothing bad in dating younger guy if it’s for fun, but they are rarely any good for serious relationships – if we talk about guys younger than 25 years old, that is. Then they are men (mostly, lol) and usually the age difference doesn’t matter all that much after the younger partner is 25+ (if the difference is not ve-e-ery big, like 10 years and more, and it works both ways, for men and women alike).

    If we talk about K-pop boys that I find attractive, there’s a whole bunch of guys 1-3 years younger than me. Oldest members of SuJu, Yunho, maybe more, but I’m too lazy to google their ages to check if they’re really younger than me or not . No SHINee please, at least not in this decade.

    Also there was “Oh My Lady”, where Chae Rim tried very hard playing the role of 30 years old house-wife (but really, she totally failed to show that she was “old” and “unattractive” in comparison to Choi Shiwon; she’s pretty and didn’t look older than him at all). This drama was unrealistic to the max, at least in my oh-so-western eyes.

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  • Krissy

    Well I’m 29 and if I could I would totally date T.O.P.! LOL
    Funny thing is when I was in high school there was a guy who liked me a lot and he was 2 years my junior. But I told myself that I wouldn’t go out with guys younger than me. And the relationship I’m in now my man is 2 years younger than me. And we have been dating for over 5 years now. So I think it’s all about the maturity levels of the two partners and if they match up. I do think it bugs my boyfriend a little when all his friends think I’m the one who’s way younger just by our looks! :]

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  • Flick

    I think age shouldn’t matter at all as long as you’re on the same maturity level. I’m too young to have a large age gap with a younger idol but i think someone in Teen Top is 14 or 15 and I’m 17 and probs wouldnt go there but thats different when you’re a teenager going through puberty and changing so fast lol.

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