TWICE Idol Chaeyoung's Love Life Is the Center of Attention Thanks to Her New Controversial Boyfriend

Everybody loves to tune in to the drama of K-pop idols, and now we’ve got the best of it with a TWICE star Chaeyoung’s relationship. Chaeyoung rose to stardom as the designated rapper of TWICE’s nine-member group, so her reputation has always been under the magnifying glass. Now, her love life is front and center as dating rumors between her and another K-pop idol have been circulating.

However, their relationship is controversial amongst K-pop fans because of their 10-year age gap. So not only do people want to know about who Chaeyoung is dating, but they also want to know how old she is and if it’s even appropriate (in their eyes) for her to date her current beau.

Korean news outlet Sway confirmed the rumors that Chaeyoung and Zion.T have been dating for about six months as of April 2024. JYP Entertainment, which represents TWICE’s members, confirmed their relationship in a statement (via Economic Times): “The two are meeting each other with good feelings. They are supporting each other.”

Another source told the outlet, “Chaeyoung and Zion.T initially interacted as senior and junior colleagues before their relationship blossomed into a romantic one. Given that neither of them has a secretive or discrete personality, their close acquaintances are already well aware of their dating status.”

Fans have spotted them around town for about six months, which tracks with their relationship’s timeline. They reportedly spend a lot of time in the Kangbuk area of Seoul in addition to Hannam-dong and Yeonhui-dong, which are highly frequented spots for Korea’s young people. However, the 10-year age gap between Chaeyoung and Zion.T has inspired many fans to share their own opinions about the relationship.

For those who are less familiar with Zion.T, he’s a very popular South Korean hip-hop and R&B singer signed to The Black Label and represented by YG Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2014, over a decade ago, after the release of his studio album, Red Light. Born Kim Hae-sol, he later told Kpopeurope that he chose his stage name because “I am a Christian and so the ‘T’ in my name is representative of the cross."

He also emulates and is inspired by T-Pain, which is evident in his R&B hip-hop fusion style. Throughout the years, he’s collaborated with artists such as Psy, Crush, Lee Moon-se, and more, and he even won two awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in 2016. But at 36 years old, he’s over 10 years older than Chaeyoung.

Age-gap relationships are always controversial, and as we know, K-pop fans are never shy about their opinions. They took to Theqoo to give their two cents. One fan wrote, "They're 26 and 36 in Korean age now. Hope they are happy,” which is a pretty positive sentiment! Another even added on Reddit, “If there was an algorithm to generate Chaeyoung's type it would spit out Zion T.”

We just hope that whatever age gap or controversy, they’re still happy!