New Year’s First Celebrity Couple Revealed, Identities Send Social Media Into a Frenzy
The public has been thrown into a stir by the revelation of the entertainment industry’s first couple of the year in South Korea.
As is tradition, fans eagerly await to see which K-pop stars will be exposed by Dispatch on the first day of the new year. Contrary to expectations, however, more than halfway through January 1, 2026, the famed Korean outlet had yet to make any move to unveil a celebrity dating story.
In the early afternoon of January 1, Koreaboo sent shockwaves through social media by unexpectedly revealing the identity of K-pop’s first New Year couple. According to the report, the male idol at the center of the buzz is Minseo, a member of boy group DRIPPIN.
Sources claim that Minseo was recently spotted by a passerby celebrating the New Year with his girlfriend, whose identity has not been disclosed. The couple were seen exchanging notably affectionate gestures. Later on, the 2002-born idol reportedly even wore his girlfriend’s hat and casually posted a photo on his personal social media account.
The eyewitness who encountered Minseo added further details, saying the idol dared to date in public but refused to acknowledge his own identity. “My friends dragged me out to celebrate New Year’s, and I happened to run into Minseo with his girlfriend. They looked extremely affectionate. I asked him three times if he was Minseo, but he firmly denied it each time. He even wore his girlfriend’s hat and posted photos on Instagram. It seems like he enjoys showing off,” the witness said.
Many expected Minseo to receive congratulations after becoming the focus of the first dating news of the year. Instead, the idol has been met with a wave of backlash. The criticism stems from the fact that Minseo has previously been linked to multiple relationships, despite not yet securing a strong foothold in the highly competitive K-pop industry.
Some fans have accused the DRIPPIN member of prioritizing romance over his career and being indifferent to fan support. One fan harshly criticized the 2002-born idol, saying: “Minseo, how many more times are you going to hurt me? I’ve forgiven you again and again, but you keep disappointing me like this. You win.”
Prior to his current relationship, Minseo was rumored to have dated a Chinese social media influencer. During that period, intimate photos of the pair circulated online, leaving many fans taken aback.
Born in 2002, Minseo competed on Produce X 101 in 2019 but failed to make the debut lineup. He later returned as a trainee under Woollim Entertainment and officially debuted as a member of DRIPPIN in October 2020.
Source: Koreaboo
