Fact Check: Did Han So Hee Actually Lie About Her First Meeting With Ryu Jun Yeol?

Amidst the ongoing drama of Han So Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol’s recently revealed romance, speculations are brewing all around about a suspected infidelity on Ryu’s part toward his former girlfriend, Girls’ Day member and actress Hyeri.

A quick recap of the entire fiasco: a few days ago, rumors of Han So Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol dating started doing the rounds on the internet based on an anonymous netizen post. The possibility left many shocked, as Ryu was in a long-term relationship with Hyeri for 6 years which they had gone public with many years ago. Speculations of cheating started arising and were amplified when Hyeri posted a cryptic Instagram story alluding to the rumors. Soon, Han So Hee indirectly responded to Hyeri through her Instagram, adding fuel to the fire.

Fast forward to now, Han So Hee has made her Instagram private and wiped out her blog owing to an onslaught of hate comments from netizens after she made a post on her blog confirming the relationship while also refuting claims that she got involved with Ryu when he was already in a relationship.

Hello, everyone. Some of you may have been surprised or hurt by the news about me over the past few days. I thought it would be better to let articles break the news, but I realized that would feel more like a notification. So I am writing this to lessen the pain that my fans, whom I value dearly, might feel.

First, [Ryu Jun Yeol] and I have feelings for each other and are in a relationship. However, I would like everyone to refrain from using the term ‘hwanseung’ (or literally “Transfer,” a Korean slang for cheating, rebounding, and/or switching). It is true we met through a photo exhibition, but the main purpose of my visiting the photo exhibition was to see the exhibition with my photographer friend. I heard that we might be working together [in a future work] so I went to greet him there.

Second, we developed feelings for each other in 2024. From what I heard, he ended his relationship with [Hyeri] early 2023, but the articles about their breakup came out in November. Based on this fact, I decided to pursue how I was feeling and build the relationship.

— Han So Hee

Instead of relieving her from speculations of cheating, Han So Hee’s post brought even more intense scrutiny her way, as netizens put one after another claim under the microscope to check their validity. Many were unconvinced that Hyeri and Ryu Jun Yeol had broken up in early 2023, citing that she had sent him a birthday truck on set to celebrate. However, that claim turned out to be false.

Some also accused Han So Hee of lying about her first meeting with Ryu being in November, when she went to his photo exhibit. As supporting evidence, these netizens put forth an ad film for the brand BIOTHERM. Both Ryu and Han were models of the brand and starred in its campaign in 2021. The claims were made mostly on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, where netizens posted screenshots implying that Han So Hee and Ryu Jun Yeol starred in a BIOTHERM ad together.

However, it turns out that the two actors never really appeared in the same frame for the BIOTHERM ad. In the netizens’ screenshot, the woman whose back was visible next to Ryu was comedian Lee Eun Ji.

With this “evidence” refuted, it seems that Han So Hee’s claims were not false. In fact, MBC News also refuted such claims, reaffirming that the actress met Ryu in November at the exhibit. Read more about their report here.