'But who are you?' Single's Inferno 2 couple Jo Yoong-jae and Choi Seo-eun cancel $82/ticket fanmeet after backlash

With popular South Korean reality dating show Single's Inferno 2 concluding on Jan 10, fans were excited to see the three couples stay together even after the show, and left wanting more juicy details about their relationships.

But how much would viewers of the show pay for these updates? Not 77,000 won (S$82), it seems.

Couple Jo Yoong-jae and Choi Seo-eun found out the hard way that they weren't quite A-listers yet when they decided to charge the exorbitant price for an 80-minute fanmeet scheduled for Feb 11.

While the Instagram post from Seo-eun showing details of the fanmeet has been deleted, a tweet from fan account @showbizidol__ containing the information remains online and has been met with much animosity.

논란 중인 솔로지옥2 현커 융재서은 팬미팅 티켓 가격 80분 77,000원 pic.twitter.com/YANooYW2Sn

— 연예계 아카이브 (@showbizidol__) January 18, 2023

One Twitter user responded: "Aren't they both just regular people? Who would pay 77,000 won to see a couple acting lovey-dovey?" while other tweets simply read: "But who are you?" and "Are they even famous?"

In response, both Yoong-jae and Seo-eun released statements on their Instagram accounts yesterday (Jan 19) announcing the cancellation of the paid fanmeet.

Seo-eun, 27, wrote: "We had wanted to meet directly with the fans who had given us much support and love through the show, if we had the opportunity to. When we received a proposal for a fan meeting [from a company], we accepted it gladly.

"But our decision was immature, and I've been feeling hurt and guilty because of it."

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmMtNLJaUi/[/embed]

Yoong-jae, 32, wrote: "Because of the necessary processes and components needed [to host the fanmeet], we ended up being inconsiderate to the participants and were unable to consider these matters. Whatever the reason is, it was an oversight on my part for not being prudent enough."

Both of them added that they would be hosting a free fanmeet instead "at our own expense" on the same day and livestreaming it on Instagram.

They wrote: "We'll release information about how to attend later, and will prepare styling tips, Q&As, surprise events and gifts for those attending."

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CnmMQbyPyfK/[/embed]

It seems that their faux-pas hasn't turned their fans off yet, as the couple's decision was met with positivity.

"I've seen a lot of people caught up in controversy, but I think this clean, quick response, and sincere writing was almost perfect," one comment read. "You started off with good intentions, but must have met a lot of trouble suddenly."

Some fans were sad that the Yoong-jae and Seo-eun had deleted their couple photos together after the backlash, while others didn't think there was an issue with paying for the fanmeet in the first place.

One Instagram user commented: "I'm so angry that haters twisted their good intentions. Both of them must have felt sad with the reactions," and that people had made "these two good people uncomfortable with your actions".

ALSO READ: For real: All 3 Single's Inferno 2 couples go Instagram official

drimac@asiaone.com

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