Choi Min-sik calls out celebrity dating stigma: 'Young single people dating — what's wrong with that?'

Choi Min-sik has thoughts on how the industry handles celebrity dating. He's not mincing words.

On June 27, the veteran actor appeared on YouTube channel 핑계고's fan meeting special alongside actor Choi Hyun-wook, with whom he worked on Netflix's 맨끝줄 소년. Host Yoo Jae-suk noted that Min-sik seemed frustrated watching younger colleagues get burned by dating coverage. Min-sik confirmed it directly: "Young unmarried people are dating — what's wrong with that?" He added, "You need to experience love. As long as you don't do anything bad."

The comments hit a nerve anyone who's watched a K-drama lead get dragged for a relationship reveal would recognize. Min-sik framed it as a basic human right the industry keeps punishing.

He also used the appearance to mentor Hyun-wook on the longer game. "You should be cautious of praise like 'you're the best' or 'you did well,'" he said. "If you start adjusting your standards to external reactions, there's no end to it." He pushed the younger actor to ask harder questions: why he's doing the work, what he's learning from it, how it's changing his life. "You need to think about these things more to update yourself."

Hyun-wook, currently building his profile after 맨끝줄 소년, got both the career lecture and the relationship pep talk in one sitting.