BTS comeback tour hijacked by dating rumours

Homegrown K-pop fans expect their idols to stay single—at least publicly

- Agencies

BTS's Jungkook

K pop's biggest-ever comeback tour, the return of the super boyband BTS, has been hijacked by a dating scandal. How the $9 billion industry handles the excesses of super fan culture will have an impact on the way the genre extends its footprint globally.

The controversy that has fired up a small but vocal fandom centers on whether two of the industry's biggest stars, Jungkook of BTS and Winter of aespa, are in a relationship. To some fervent devotees, dating is a crime. Idols are meant to stay single, at least publicly, to preserve the image of accessibility and provide blank slates for followers to project their fantasies.