Netizens have had mixed reactions to a gesture from actor Jo Byung Kyu towards ITZY‘s Yuna.
Actor Jo Byung Kyu | Netflix ITZY’s Yuna | @itzy.all.in.us/Instagram
On November 24, W Korea held its special “Love Your W” event. It was attended by huge stars. Amongst them were ITZY’s Yuna, Ryujin, and Yeji, along with actor Jo Byung Kyu.
With so many stars, there were a lot of unexpected interactions, and one quickly went viral among fans. At the event, fans noticed that ITZY and Byung Kyu were sitting at the same table. With the press circulating, there was one video of ITZY’s Yuna where she was wearing a cropped jacket over her shoulders.
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Considering she didn’t enter with it and it didn’t match her outfit, netizens were intrigued where it came from.
Many quickly noticed it looked extremely similar to the one that Byung Kyu was wearing. Also, in the first video, the man next to her seemed like the actor and was no longer wearing a jacket.
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Although the event happened several days ago, the moment started gaining attention on Korean forums. Yet, while it seemed like a cute gesture, some netizens seemed to find issues with it, whether it was questioning Jo Byung Kyu, especially after past controversies and downplaying it.
| Nate Pann Yuna, please find a better man. Jo Byung Kyu is a nono. I don’t think he would’ve been so bold to give her the jacket if they actually had something going on between them. There are tons of women who’d do the same for Yuna. Don’t make a big deal out of something so insignificant. 100% sure that it went like this: Yuna says she’s cold because she doesn’t know anyone around and feels awkward. He hears her and offers the jacket. She says no, and then they go back and forth a bit. She ends up taking the jacket. Daebak, LMAO. Aren’t they indoors, though? There are plenty of people who dressed lighter than Yuna…
Yet, while Korean netizens seemed to have more negative and quite judgemental thoughts towards the action, international fans came to the defense of the pair. While many just saw it as a cute gesture with the actor being a true gentleman, others defended the pair against negative backlash.
byeongkyu gave his jacket to yuna thats so cute 🥹 pic.twitter.com/mXra9IA70I
— taki ☆ (@iwastorn) November 24, 2023
woke up to this tiktok video with almost 600k views and 100k likes 5hrs ago post????
THAT’S ACTOR CHO BYEONGKYU who lend his jacket to ITZY YUNA It’s just a gentlemanly behavior #조병규 #LoveYourW2023 pic.twitter.com/Ssi1fgj0rw
— (@BKindaeyo) November 24, 2023
OMG ITZY YUNA IS WEARING BYEONGKYU’S JACKET!!!!!!
— (@BKindaeyo) November 24, 2023
people need to stop being weird about that TWENTY SEVEN year old man giving yuna A NINETEEN YEAR OLD his jacket
— SAMMIE DAY (@yunadore) November 25, 2023
While Korean netizens looked at it negatively due to the actor’s past, most fans found it adorable and loved that someone was looking out for Yuna.
You can read more about the interactions below.
Korean netizens hit back at the actor.