Fans react as Kim Se-jeong reveals that TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo are her “Level 1 friends”

Business Proposal actress Kim Se-jeong has revealed that TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo are two of her closest friends in the industry. Surprised? Well, so are we.

On the July 26 broadcast of SBS' Dolsing Fourmen, where Kim Se-jeong was promoting her upcoming drama Today’s Webtoon alongside co-stars Nam Yoon-su and Choi Daniel, she made a rather interesting revelation regarding her friend circle.

She revealed that people often mistake her for an outgoing person with a lot of friends due to her bright and bubbly image. However, in reality, she is a quiet and reserved person. She further revealed that she divides her acquaintances into five categories of closeness. Among them, TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo are her “Level 1 friends.”

“Level 1 would be TWICE's Jihyo or ASTRO's Eun Woo. They are my closest friends."

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Social media erupts after Kim Se-jeong's revelation about TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo

While fans were already aware that Kim Se-jeong and TWICE’s Jihyo are besties, they were surprised to find out that ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo is one of her closest friends as well.

The idol-turned-actor’s disclosure led to numerous reactions on social media.

Fans pointed out that Kim Se-jeong and Cha Eun-woo filmed a fun and summery ad for Lotte Waterpark years ago and theorized that they must have kept in touch with each other. Cha Eun-woo even sent a coffee truck to support her 2020 K-drama, The Uncanny Counter.

K-drama fans are manifesting a series with the two of them as leads so they can see more of this best-friend duo.

As for TWICE’s Jihyo, the girls became friends many moons ago while hanging out backstage. TWICE’s Jihyo asked Kim for her number and they have been thick as thieves since then, even taking trips together.

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Netizens express shock over Kim Se-jeong choosing TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo over her former IOI and Gugudan members

While Sesangs (Kim Se-jeong’s fandom), ONCEs (TWICE’s fandom), and AROHAs (ASTRO’s fandom) were happy to learn that Jihyo and Cha Eun-woo are Kim's best friends, a few were still shocked that the Business Proposal star’s former bandmates ranked second on her list.

For those unversed, Kim Se-jeong finished second on Mnet's girl group survival show Produce 101, becoming a member of the project girl group I.O.I. She later debuted as a member of her agency Jellyfish Entertainment's girl group, Gugudan. Post the disbandment of Gugudan, she has been mainly active as a solo artist and actress.

Netizens have struck up a heated argument about whether or not her recent comments about ranking her friends were honest or careless.

Kim Se-jeong revealed while promoting Today’s Webtoon that she has developed a five-tier system to categorize her friends and acquaintances. At the very top are her best friends, TWICE’s Jihyo and ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo, but the second level also contains people she is close to.

The third level is reserved for those she recognizes and greets whenever she sees them. Her Today’s Webtoon co-stars, Nam Yoon-su and Choi Daniel, feature in this category. Next are the people she has heard of but doesn’t say hello to. Finally, the fifth level is reserved for strangers.

Kim Se-jeong ranked her former I.O.I and Gugudan bandmates in the second category.

"Level 2 friends would be my members that I promoted with, like Gugudan and IOI.”

While some netizens felt that the Plant singer’s comments were "relatable," others felt that she was being “careless" for "publicly ranking her friends."

However, many fans are defending Kim Se-jeong by stating that it is her personal choice to be friends with whoever she wants and nobody should take offence from her statement.

In fact, the Business Proposal star herself was unfazed by and coolly responded that her friends already know this about her.

"It's fine. My friends already know this about me. And if I haven't seen them in about 3 months, then we need to become reacquainted (laughter)."

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What is Today's Webtoon about?

Today’s Webtoon is Kim's new venture, alongside Nam Yoon-su and Choi Daniel.

The talented singer stars as On Ma-eum, a former judo athlete who is forced to abandon her precious dream of being a national-level athlete after suffering a life-threatening injury. However, she doesn’t lose heart and decides to give her second dream of being a webtoon artist a chance. She joins Neon Webtoon’s editorial team and works sincerely to pursue her goals and mature into a good editor.

Today’s Webtoon is the official Korean remake of the 2016 Japanese drama Sleeeper Hit.

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Today’s Webtoon premieres on July 29, 2022, at 10 PM KST (6:30 PM IST).