The romantic relationship between actor Ryu Jun-yeol and actress Han So-hee has been a hot topic during the past few days. Two days after dating rumors broke out, the two immediately confirmed their relationship.
Regarding Ryu Jun-yeol, many people know him with the role of Kim Jung-hwan in tvN’s hit drama “Reply 1988”. However, there are more interesting things about him that you may not know yet.
Controversial Love Story With Hyeri and Han So Hee
Ryu Jun Yeol and Hyeri were a beloved couple in the Korean entertainment scene after their collaboration in the drama Reply 1988. In the series, Hyeri’s character, Duk Sun, ultimately ends up with Taek (played by Park Bo Gum), while Jung Hwan, portrayed by Ryu Jun Yeol, harbors deep feelings for his neighbor Duk Sun.
Though they didn’t become a couple on-screen, Ryu Jun Yeol and Hyeri were actually together in real life. In 2017, Dispatch unexpectedly revealed images and details of their romantic dates, causing a stir in public opinion. At that time, Ryu Jun Yeol and Hyeri quickly confirmed their relationship.
However, on November 13, 2023, News 1 exclusively reported that Ryu Jun Yeol and Hyeri recently decided to end their romantic relationship after a long period of consideration. The two have returned to being friends and colleagues who support each other. News 1 also revealed that many people in the entertainment industry felt regret upon learning that the two actors had broken up after six years of dating.
On March 14, 2024, Han So Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol were revealed to be dating in Hawaii, USA. The following day, Lee Hyeri, Ryu Jun Yeol’s ex-girlfriend, unfollowed him and posted a photo of a resort on her personal page with the caption: “It’s interesting.”
On March 16, Han So Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol confirmed that they had been dating since the beginning of 2024. Two days later, Lee Hyeri apologized, stating that she didn’t expect her every small action to cause a buzz on social media. She promised to be more careful with her words and actions to avoid making similar mistakes.
However, netizens immediately speculated that Ryu Jun Yeol had cheated on Hyeri. Han So Hee later sparked discussions when she posted a lengthy letter on Instagram, which she quickly deleted. In the letter, she asserted that she was not the third party intruding into Jun Yeol’s relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Lee Hyeri. They first met in November 2023, after Ryu Jun Yeol had already broken up. She subtly criticized her boyfriend for remaining silent, expressing disappointment that he left her to bear the backlash alone.
On March 30, C-JeS Entertainment, the management company of Ryu Jun Yeol, confirmed to Newsen: “Ryu Jun Yeol has broken up with Han So Hee.” The representative for the Reply 1988 star did not disclose the reason for the breakup and did not answer any further questions.
Baeksang’s Best Actor
Ryu Jun-yeol appeared on the small screen for the first time in 2007, but it was not until 2023 that he had his first role. Since then, the 37-year-old actor has been going back and forth between dramas and movies.
“Reply 1988” is obviously the most famous drama of Ryu Jun-yeol. On the big screen, he recently hit big with “The Night Owl”. It was considered one of the best movies in 2022 and Ryu Jun-yeol also showed an amazing performance as the lead actor. Thanks to the role, he won Best Actor at the 2023 Baeksang and was nominated for Blue Dragon and Buil Film Festival.
Trustworthy movie star
Ryu Jun-yeol has participated in various blockbusters. “The Night Owl” was created with a budget of 6.7 million USD and earned up to 26.6 million USD after its premiere. “The King”, starring Ryu Jun-yeol, Jo In-sung, Jung Woo-sung, and Bae Sung-woo, gained a profit of 38.5 million USD, becoming the 7th highest-grossing movie in 2017. He also won a Baeksang award with this movie.
Another movie “Taxi Driver” was also successful. It was invented 13.8 million USD but earned up to 88.7 million USD in profit. In 2018, Ryu Jun-yeol worked with Kim Tae-ri and Jin Ki-joo in “Little Forest”. It was a low-budget movie but the result was impressive, which was 11.1 million won. Apart from that, “Money”, “Believer” and “The Battle: Roar to Victory” also achieved great box office success.
Admirable Achievements
With his acting experience of 11 years, Ryu Jun-yeol has left many impressions on the viewers with 36 nominations at prestigious award ceremonies, including Baeksang, Blue Dragon, etc. Among them, he won 23 times.
With all those achievements, Ryu Jun-yeol was named in the list of 40 influential Korean celebrities selected by Forbes 3 times in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Notably, he ranked No.11 in the 2019 list. In 2021, Ryu Jun-yeol was also chosen among Cine21’s leading actors of 2022.
Upcoming collaboration with Blue Dragon’s Best Actress
In 2014, fans will be able to see Ryu Jun-yeol on the small screen through the drama “The 8 Show” on May 17th via Netflix. The drama depicts the story of 8 people who are invited to a variety show called “Money Game” for money. They need to escape from a room with challenges to win 44.8 billion won. In addition to Ryu Jun-yeol, the cast of “The 8 Show” also includes “Blue Dragon winner” Chun Woo-hee.
Although it’s not related to acting, Ryu Jun-yeol is known as a big fan of football. In particular, he’s friends with football star Son Heung-min and even participated in promoting FIFA U20 World Cup 2017.