I’ve been to quite a few weddings in my lifetime, and they’ve always been beautiful and emotionally momentous events. However news of a wedding has sometimes taken me by surprise, perhaps due the two people in the couple not knowing each other for too long, the underlying family feud that’s casting a cloud over the couple, or just the sheer timing of the wedding announcement. K-pop is most certainly not an exception to wedding announcements. The fun filled surprises that come with the news of a K-pop celebrity wedding are one of the things that add to the package of the K-industry. So how about a quick run through of the K-pop wedding announcements in the present and in the past that have clipped us upside the head?

Recently the news of the well loved entertainer HaHa’s engagement to singer Byul has surfaced, and the announcement was quite unexpected in terms of timing. For those who do not know, HaHa is quite the guy in K-pop; a radio show host with MC Mong back in the day, a singer and rapper, a co-star for MBC‘s Infinity Challenge and now, SBS’s Running Man. HaHa has always made known his love for women (e.g Son Ye-jin, Ha Ga-in) and in somewhat recent articles HaHa has expressed his wish to get married, and preferably very soon.

However, as the news of his engagement to Byul touched the Internet shores, most of us did not expect it. Why? Because there wasn’t any preceding news to the announcement and if anything, his past comments on wanting to get married soon weren’t taken too seriously. Plus, did we even know he was dating Byul? Scrap that, did we even know he was dating in the first place?!  Apart from the fact that he has been dating Byul, the next surprise in store was that he had been dating her for six months. In any ordinary circumstance, a six-month dating period and then engagement would be one to raise some alarms, but considering that the two of them have apparently known each other for many years is enough to establish the close bond you get whilst in a relationship, right? That’s subject to debate but still the dating period as well as the hot fact that the wedding will be in November this year is just enough to stir up some interesting questions, let’s say a unexpected arrival for Miss Byul maybe? (Although it should be noted that apparently a ‘close source‘ says that this is not the case).

On the subject of  unexpected arrivals, another surprising piece of wedding news was that of SBS’s Family Outing‘s Lee Chun-hee and actress Jun Hye-jin in 2010. The two had starred together in SBS’s You Smileback in 2009 and the love sparks erupted from that moment onwards as the two started dating.

Apart from the age difference of nine years, what was surprising yet romantic at the same time, was the heartfelt message that Lee Chun-hee left on his fancafe to his fans. In his message, as he talked about how he’d met his wife-to-be and the impact she had had on his life, he let go of the bombshell at the end of his message as he announced that Jun Hye-jin was eight weeks pregnant. Now it’s not uncommon for Korean celebrities or even ordinary people in our society to become pregnant before marriage; what was even more surprising was the way in which Lee Chun-hee revealed the news. Talk about leaving the best bit for last but, well, this guy always had his ways in Family Outing! 

The next surprise wedding news was one that I must say turned into sort of a scandal. In July of 2008, actor Kwon Sang-woo revealed that he would get married to model and actress Son Tae-young. However his announcement of their engagement only came a day after rumors about him dating Son Tae-young had spread like a wildfire across the net. So how does a huge star like Kwon Sang-woo end up revealing his marriage plans? Not by his agency or passionate message but by a press conference! (If you’re gonna go out, go out BIG!)

Soon after, rumors started circulating that Son Tae-young was actually pregnant hence the reason for their shotgun marriage which was to take place in September of 2008. From the viewpoint of a person that was pretty much new to K-pop and the industry at that point, the whole thing looked pretty chaotic. There were plenty of people who took to the forums and vented over how unfit Son Tae-young was for Kwon Sang-woo as there were numerous scandals between her and other men to her name. Many had wanted Kwon Sang-woo to partner up with other actresses of their choice but to their dismay, the deed was already done. While there were indeed many who were surprised by the unexpected news, but when the marriage finally took place, there were also many who congratulated the couple.

In general, when we hear the news of our favourite Korean celebrities hitching up we’re bound to be shocked a bit by some aspects. Maybe it’s just a typical trend for celebrities to get married pretty quickly. If anything, there’s a need for them to get quickly hitched especially when there’s not a lot of time for them to experience the dating process like a typical person would, as consuming schedules and activities are the life they lead. One thing is for certain though, whether we’re surprised or not, we only wish happiness and lifetime of togetherness for the future Mr and Mrs. So to HaHa and Byul, Congratulations!

(Naver, Nate [1] [2], Asianbite, High Cut, enewsWorld)