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In December 2023, Dispatch made a shocking announcement for their then-upcoming annual New Year couple reveal, which threw the internet into a frenzy. Dispatch confessed that the couple they'll be exposing is a 2nd generation K-pop idol currently active as an actor and a 4th generation K-pop idol, most likely from IVE, aespa, LE SSERAFIM, or NewJeans. Following the announcement, fans have eagerly awaited the reveal and are counting down the days for the same.
However, even days after New Year's, the Korean media outlet has remained silent about its much-talked-about and highly anticipated couple reveal. As netizens continue to press the media outlet to publish the news about the alleged couple, many have also understood the reason behind the delay in its announcement.
Following the sudden and unfortunate death of the treasured Korean actor Parasite's Lee Sun-kyun on December 27, many people have been speculating that Dispatch has chosen to postpone their announcement to respect the lost soul.
Why has Dispatch yet to reveal its highly anticipated New Year's couple?
Dispatch, the Korean media outlet, carries a yearly tradition where it reveals a couple in the K-industry, and it has turned into something that netizens eagerly look forward to every year around. While the excitement for these couple reveals has always peaked, it was all the higher this year due to the outlet's previous announcement about their then-upcoming couple reveal.
On December 22, Dispatch made an announcement that created an endless buzz on the internet, intriguing every K-drama and K-pop fan. They stated that the couple included a second-generation K-pop idol currently active as a K-drama actor and a fourth-generation K-pop idol from the four rookie girl groups, NewJeans, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, and aespa. Given the natural age gap and the controversial stance of the couple, several people have been eagerly looking forward to the couple's reveal.
It was even previously speculated by a Japanese media outlet, Daebak Tokyo, that aespa's Giselle and Park Hyung-sik were the rumored couple. However, due to the need for more solidifying evidence, netizens chose to wait until the Korean media outlet exposed the couple themselves since they usually release evidence and pieces of tangible proof to justify their statement. As netizens continued to stay, they were disappointed to note that the couple's reveal never came about.
However, the netizens also understood Dispatch's reason behind the same. On December 27, it was revealed that the Parasite actor, Lee Sun-kyun, was found dead in his car after allegedly taking his own life. The actor was also tangled up in charges of drug usage. However, two tests run by the authorities proved that Lee Sun-kyun was not involved in drug usage, at least in the last ten months.
However, the police investigations continued to take place, and even though the actor requested a lie detector test as his last resort on December 28, his death was announced before any conclusions were made about his request. Following the announcement, the entirety of Korea and various other parts of the world mourned his death and the loss of a talented soul.
Given the sensitive environment in the industry, many believe that Dispatch has chosen to either not announce or postpone its couple's reveal out of respect for the ones mourning and not override the important news of his death with their New Year couple announcement.
The Korean media outlet has maintained its New Year's couple reveal tradition ever since 2010. However, the only other time apart from 2024, that they still need to make their couple reveal is in 2011 and 2012, but no prior anticipatory announcement about the couple was made. There wasn't any couple for Dispatch to reveal in those two years. However, the tradition continued to sail strong for another ten years since 2013.
Some of the exciting and shocking couples that they've revealed during New Year's include IU and Lee Jong-suk in 2023, BLACKPINK's Jennie and EXO's Kai in 2019, Girls Generation's YoonA and Lee Seung-gi in 2014, Rain and Kim Tae-hee in 2013, and more.
However, netizens continue to hope for the much-anticipated and rumored couple to be revealed as soon as possible.
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