On March 28, 2025, local time, the South Korean actress Hyeri confessed that she felt more comfortable kissing a girl in the drama Friendly Rivalry, leaving the fandom in a frenzy. The female artist made the following statement during her appearance on Baek Eun-ha's Give and Take YouTube channel. The video was titled Goo Jun-pyo, get out of the way! Yoo Je-yei is here! Actress Hyeri.
The female artist mentioned the same-sex and kissing scene with Chung Su-bin in the show and added:
"I hope it's expressed beautifully. I wanted to film it nicely. I was worried that those scenes would be expressed provocatively or become elements that are just written. It was a very important scene. The director, actress Chung Su-bin, and I all thought about filming it nicely."
The Reply 1988 actress elaborated on how it was not that different from kissing male co-stars and added:
"I actually thought, 'Could it be different?, but I actually felt more comfortable. I was surprised. It's not that different."
Subsequently, the K-pop idol's confession that she felt more comfortable kissing a girl circulated on social media and went viral among the fandom. They were elated to learn about her perspective on the same-sex kissing scenes. An X user tweeted:
"And girls won again."
The fandom stated that they loved to see women supporting each other. Many users noted that she would soon become the favorite female artist among the queer community in South Korea.
"Love to see woman supporting woman- I mean woman kissing woman,"- a fan reacted.
"shes so right tho cos its really more comfortable kissing a woman than a man. this girl spilled facts,"- a fan shared.
"Watch her become the new favorite female artist amongst the queer community in SK,"- a fan mentioned.
The internet users mentioned they loved her honesty.
"Hyeri's candid confession is a breath of fresh air! She felt surprisingly comfortable with her female co-star in that kissing scene,"- a user reacted.
"Hyeri keeping it real! Love her honesty,"- a user shared.
"Isn't Hyeri like 30? I googled the show and it's about high school students. Korea is going a bit wild when it comes to their castings lmao Show any good by the way, I like what I've seen from Hyeri,"- a user mentioned.
More about Hyeri's Friendly Rivalry
The ongoing mystery and thriller drama Friendly Rivalry featured a star-studded cast, including Lee Hyeri, Chung Su-bin, Kang Hye-won, and Oh Woo-ri. The show premiered from February 10 to March 6, 2025. It aired every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 00:00 Korean Standard Time.
The series was based on the webtoon of the same name. It featured sixteen episodes. According to Asianwiki, the official synopsis for the series reads:
"Yoo Je-Yi is the most powerful student in the school. She has a high IQ, comes from a wealthy family background, and is attractive physically. She has lived as the envy of other people since she was born, and she is aware of her superiority."
The synopsis further reads:
"She is also cunning enough to know how to take advantage of her position. She shows special interest in transfer student Woo Seul-Ki. They soon develop a dangerous relationship between friendship and obsession."
She is well-known for many dramas, including Reply 1988, May I Help You, My Roommate is a Gumiho, and others.