Americans get this right.

Judy here... It's spring and the omnipresent news story in Korea has been the scandal surrounding the gorgeous & talented actor, Kim Soo-hyun. (Okay, there was also the scandal caused by President Yoon but between these two scandals the Kdrama scandal is my focus for this blog post.)

In summary Kim Soo-hyun dated a woman several years ago. She tragically committed suicide in February. Since her death there have been allegations that link her death with Kim Soo-hyun even though they haven’t dated in years. I obviously have no clue what is true and what is false. I suspect most people cannot determine truth from fiction regarding this case, but that hasn't stopped Korean netizens from forming opinons! (Netizens are the term used for citizens on the net...) Kim Soo-hyun has been absolutely crucified with allegations of everything from dating an underage person to straight up killing the young woman. The reaction from the Korean public could actually end his career.

Another recent scandal involved Suga of the music group BTS. Suga rode what I would call a motorized dirt bike (about 30" tall) home after an evening of drinking. He rode the vehicle on the sidewalk and when turning into his driveway the bike tipped over. Police came to his aid and smelled alcohol and ticketed him. That's all factually known and I understand it. But the reaction of many fans was shocking to me. They expected Suga to be permanently ejected from the band! Many fans sent 'funeral wreaths' to his management company implying Suga was 'dead to them.' Whoa... talk about an extreme reaction!

In the US I believe that stars are subject to gossip... but not to the degree that Korean stars are forced to tolerate. The amount of vitriol and hate shown to these stars is shocking to this Gmama. How can people make these judgements without access to fact is beyond belief. Americans are much more accepting of the fact that stars have personal lives and they may or may not be perfect people. I'll take American attitudes on this subject any day.