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The New Year’s gift arrived a bit early for fans as IU and Lee Jong-suk confirmed their relationship on December 31, 2022.
The K-pop and K-drama fandom is in celebration and continues to spread support to the duo’s relationship. The couple were first revealed by the notorious publication Dispatch, as part of their annual tradition of “exposing” celebrity couples on New Year’s Eve.
Soon after the artists' agencies confirmed the report, fans began calling the duo “the hottest couple."
While the former is often called the Queen of K-pop, she is also hailed for her incredible success at being arguably the biggest soloist who can compete head-on with idol groups. The latter is considered one of the A-listers in the K-drama industry, having worked in W, Pinocchio, Doctor Stranger, I Can Hear Your Voice and Big Mouth, among others.
Fans call IU and Lee Jong-suk’s dating confirmation the “biggest plot twist” of 2022
On December 31, 2022, fans woke up to Dispatch’s New Year’s couple reveal being none other than the LILAC singer IU and Big Mouth actor Lee Jong-suk.
The Dispatch report threw fans off guard because there were already rumors of the Big Mouth actor dating his co-star YoonA going rife on social media. The rumors went viral because he accidentally addressed the actress as his wife during the acceptance speech for the Best Couple Award for Big Mouth.
Fans began calling Dispatch’s New Year’s couple reveal the “biggest plot twist” of the year. It was reported that the duo, who have been colleagues for the past decade, began dating four months ago.
A few hours after the report, IU and Lee Jong-suk’s agencies confirmed that the duo “progressed from being close acquaintances into being a couple.”
Reactions to the confirmation were overwhelmingly positive. Fans dug up previous interactions between IU and Lee Jong-suk throughout the years and commented on their bond. The duo hosted the music show Inkigayo in 2012, became friends and are now a couple in love. One fan even called their journey “fanfiction” material.
Meanwhile, clips of IU at the Big Mouth actor's younger brother’s wedding also began circulating on the internet. The wedding was held two months ago. The LILAC singer attended and performed at the event.
While people initially thought it was two close friends’ taking part in each other’s celebrations, fans realized that it was during the time when the duo were already in a relationship.
Take a look at how fans across the globe are celebrating the duo’s relationship news:
Lee Jong-suk mentions his special someone in MBC Drama Awards Daesang speech
At the 2022 MBC Drama Awards held on December 30, 2022, Lee Jong-suk won the Daesang (grand prize) for Big Mouth. The actor took to the stage to give his acceptance speech and shared that he wanted to talk about the person who had “helped me to find a good direction.”
Fans called the Big Mouth actor’s acceptance speech a love confession. Read his speech below:
Meanwhile, Lee Jong-suk’s latest work was the action-thriller movie Decibel, released a month ago in November. Meanwhile, IU wrapped up filming for her movie Dream in April this year. It is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2023.
