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Pledis Entertainment’s new offices in Gangnam tower above its neighbors, stretching impressively into the Seoul city skyline.
It’s a vast change from the humble three storey building Pledis inhabited in Nonhyeon-dong a decade ago, and a moving testament to its artists, who turned a company on the brink of bankruptcy into one of the largest entertainment conglomerates today.
We are here to get the inside scoop on A-Teen’s leader Choi Seungcheol, better known by his moniker S.Coups. The award winning group is preparing for their final series of concerts in Gocheok Sky Dome, rounding off a successful world tour that netted over $40 billion won this year. There are whispers of a tour extension in 2026, and we’re here to find out if those rumors are true.
We have to get past a complicated and frankly intimidating amount of security before we make it inside the arena, before smiling Pledis staff flanked by unsmiling bodyguards escort us to the artist waiting room.
The badge around my neck identifies me as a Beta, but given the new addition to the Choi-Yoon family, I change into scent neutral clothing as requested and generously make use of the scent blocking spray.
It’s all a small inconvenience to be allowed a glimpse into the lives of one of Korea's most notoriously private couples.
I knock before I enter, and a melodious voice invites me to come in.
There’s a delicate hush – soft classical music playing in the background, the lights in the room comfortably dimmed. It’s not a scene you’d expect in the green room of one of the biggest rappers in the world, but it’s clear to see why he’d want to come home to this, each and every day.
Sitting in one of the comfy arm chairs, swaddled in a white blanket is People’s Top 10 Beautiful Faces Of The World, Saint Laurent’s muse and runway legend Yoon Jeonghan.
His blonde hair, unstyled falls softly around his face, highlighting his delicate features. Seeing him in person is somewhat of an out-of-body experience.
Over the years, casual shots of Jeonghan out with his friends, dressed down and makeup-free have gone viral on X, trending as locals gossip about his truly angelic features.
It’s easy to see how Jeonghan has become one of the most sought after supermodels both on and off the runway. His name is synonymous with effortless grace and timeless beauty. He has been the face of every major fashion house in Paris, walking a record thirteen shows last autumn before he announced his retirement.
“Hello,” he says, smiling.
The clouds part, angels sing.
The soft lights halo Jeonghan’s features giving him an ethereal glow that can only be described as heavenly.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” I manage, “and this is?”
“Sohee. She just fell asleep,” Jeonghan says.
He smiles down at the small bundle cooing quietly in his arms. The cashmere sweater he is wearing highlights the dip of his collarbones, the unabashed mating mark on his neck. “She’s gonna be down for a while, she’s just like her father that way.”
The door swings open, speak of the devil.
It’s the first time I’m meeting Choi Seungcheol in person and he is larger than life, broader and more masculine than any photo or video I’ve seen.
Every eye in the room swivels to the door, people sit up a little straighter. There’s an undercurrent in the room, and there’s no questioning who is in charge.
All of that tension seems to dissipate however, when Seungcheol lays his eyes on his husband.
He barely spares any of us a look as he beelines toward the armchair, where Jeonghan and his precious cargo are settled.
“Hey,” Seungcheol says.
He cups Jeonghan’s cheek, fingers gentle as he traces Jeonghan’s jaw, searching his face for any signs of distress.
When he’s satisfied he leans down, pressing a kiss to Jeonghan’s mouth. His hands curl possessively around Jeonghan’s neck, drawing him close.
It’s a brief kiss, but one that speaks of years of deep, unwavering love. Jeonghan must read something in Seungcheol’s eyes because he tilts his neck, a small intimate gesture that has me averting my gaze as Seungcheol leans down to scent him.
Seungcheol runs his hand through his baby’s downy hair, scenting her too.
“You’ll wake her,” Jeonghan scolds.
“Sorry,” Seungcheol says, uncharacteristically obedient.
Jeonghan clears his throat, tilting his head toward me and it’s only then Seungcheol realizes they have company.
He pulls off his coat, draping it securely over Jeonghan’s shoulders and miles of smooth unblemished skin wink out of sight.
“Sorry,” Seungcheol says, leaning over to shake my hand. “Thank you for waiting, the flight was late.”
“It’s no problem at all.”
Seungcheol remains, perched protectively on one of the arm of Jeonghan’s chair, every inch the devoted husband and father. It’s a stark contrast to the leather and body-hugging ensemble he sports, and yet in this picture, he and Jeonghan do not look out of place.
It is a revelation to see the man who has made his name as the iron pumping, hard spitting leader of hip hop group A-Teen seem so easygoing, so gentle and at ease.
This is a man who singlehandedly raised a company with 4 trainees and a dream. It’s long been rumored he isn’t someone who easily backs down, but those rumors seem so far away before the gentle alpha in front of me, the one who is leaning in to brush the hair gently out of Jeonghan’s face, the one who seems to back down the moment Jeonghan even raises an eyebrow.
“Congratulations are in order for the two of you, first for your happy family, and of course for the stellar year you’ve had. Do you have anything you want to share with your fans?”
“I’m grateful,” Seungcheol says, never taking his eyes off Jeonghan’s face. “It was amazing to have our first North American tour and I’m just glad we got a great reception.”
“It must have been hard to be away from home at such an important time.”
“It wasn’t so bad,” Jeonghan says, “he blows up my phone at all hours of the day, so I really don’t feel it when we are apart.”
“Hey,” Seungcheol protests without any real heat.
Jeonghan laughs. His hand finds Seungcheol’s thigh, squeezing it reassuringly. “But we missed him a lot at night. He’s really good about putting Sohee to sleep and keeping us warm. But it’s something that was so important for A-Teen, and they worked really hard for it. I didn’t get to go to all the shows but I was there for the important ones.”
“We made it work,” Seungcheol says, “and now I’m going to be in Korea for the foreseeable future, I’m looking forward to that.”
“What are your plans?”
“Sleep,” they say simultaneously, laughing.
“The tour was the last big thing we had planned,” Seungcheol says, “I still have smaller commitments here and there but I think I want to spend the rest of the year at home," he looks meaningfully at Jeonghan, “and if there’s the chance to collaborate with new songwriters, I’m looking forward to that too.”
They gravitate toward each other, two planets drawn into each other’s orbit. Even as they sit, their eyes often find each other, sharing a smile, a private joke, listening intently. Seungcheol’s hand rests on Jeonghan’s shoulder, his neck, his thigh, as if he is the anchor holding Seungcheol steady in this hectic life.
“It may be too early to say, but does Jeonghan have any plans to return to the industry, maybe as a designer for a collection or a collab or something like that?”
Jeonghan shakes his head, “I don’t know. It sounds like a lot of work, and right now I don’t think I have the energy. But in the future?”
He looks at Seungcheol, “maybe?”
“Whatever you want, Hannie.”
They look so fond, the perfect picture of love. Although if reports can be believed, the duo has been quietly dating for the past ten years.
“Could you tell us about how you met?”
Jeonghan turns to Seungcheol with a playful smile. “You wanna do the honors?”
“We met as teenagers in Pledis. I had been there for some time preparing for the group’s debut. Hannie joined about three years later, he’d been scouted on the street, and honestly–”
Seungcheol lets out a breath, smiling at the memory, “uh… I’m not surprised. Have you seen him?”
Jeonghan laughs, nudging his shoulder. “I didn’t know how I ended up there, honestly. I was on my way to acting class and then, boom.”
“He got seven other street casting offers, from bigger companies,” Seungcheol brags, “but I guess I-- we lucked out.”
“The four of them were training to debut as a group and I did some print advertisements but we shared a dorm, and that’s how we got closer.”
“He was so pretty when we met – he had bright red hair, and he’d always tie it up in a ponytail. And then he’d kick my ass on the court at basketball. So, it was pretty much love at first sight for me.”
“I was his first love,” Jeonghan says smugly.
“Only love,” Seungcheol corrects, and Jeonghan ducks his head, flushing prettily.
“Yeah, that was it.”
“You can’t leave us hanging like that, who confessed first?”
Jeonghan gives Seungcheol a sideways look.
“Let’s say it was me,” Seungcheol says lightly.
“It was you.”
“Yeah okay, it was me.” Seungcheol says with a grin. “Let’s go with that.”
Rumors about the couple first emerged when they were photographed by fans leaving restaurants in Berlin and Korea. The couple never denied the rumors.
“We weren’t exactly hiding it,” Seungcheol says, slowly, “We’d already talked it over before and I was prepared. If it had to come out, I’d choose Jeonghan everytime. It wasn’t even a question for me.”
Jeonghan smiles softly at him, squeezing their interlaced fingers. "We were never ashamed we just didn’t think it was anybody’s business but our own.”
“What was it like announcing your engagement publicly?”
“Well, I had already decided that 2024 was going to be my last Paris Fashion Week,” Jeonghan says, “so it just made sense to announce everything after that. It was more for our friends and family, we didn’t realize it would become the news sensation it did.”
“It was hard to miss with the size of that diamond ring,” I say wryly.
Jeonghan laughs.
Seungcheol’s thumb is gently rubbing over his knuckles, drawing my eye to the 6.3 carat princess cut diamond ring that dazzles on Jeonghan’s slender finger.
Eagle eyed fans of the couple however, weren’t surprised by the news as Seungcheol and Jeonghan sported matching Chrome Hearts bracelets for most of 2023, a ten thousand dollar gift, Seungcheol claims he bought “for fun” because Jeonghan “thought it was pretty and wanted [them] to match”.
“I was teasing him,” is Jeonghan’s defense. “He was in Japan touring at the time so I dropped in on Weverse to say hi. I didn’t really expect him to buy it for me.”
“Liar,” Seungcheol mouths. He turns back to me with a grin. “The moment he said that i knew he wanted a matching couple bracelet. And it looks great on him, that’s all that matters.”
This isn’t the first time that Seungcheol has been caught showering his beloved with gifts.
A mysterious gift was delivered to Jeonghan’s dressing room in Paris Fashion Week two years ago with a gigantic bouquet of red roses. Jeonghan, dressed in nothing but an angelic white silk robe had opened the box, revealing a Valentines Day edition of the Dyson hairdryer, and laughed.
The video had gone viral instantaneously, garnering over 2 million views and almost as many retweets.
Find you a man who will show you they love you, even from a continent away.
Perfect example of if he wanted to, he would.
Eagle eyed fans who spotted the attached note that showed up with the gift, a simple ‘love you’, didn’t have to wait long to find out who the sweet perpetrator was.
Less than a day later, the duo were spotted cuddling at a comedy show in Berlin, presumably celebrating Seungcheol's debut on the Hugo Boss runway.
“We weren’t cuddling,” Seungcheol rushes to clarify, “I just put my arm around him because he was cold.”
“We weren’t cuddling,” Jeonghan affirms. “Check the footage.”
I give them a look and our intern pulls out the grainy footage of Jeonghan wrapping his arms around Seungcheol’s bicep and tipping into his side. He hides his face in Seungcheol’s shoulder, giggling, his cheeks flushed an adorable pink. Seungcheol is smiling at him, face soft, his hand resting protectively on Jeonghan’s thigh.
I raise my eyebrow.
“Okay, maybe we were cuddling, but just a little.”
“He smelled really good,” Seungcheol says, a little dreamily.
Jeonghan shoots him a scandalized look. “Choi Seungcheol!”
“What? You did. It must’ve been after the…”
They exchange a meaningful look and Seungcheol clears his throat.
“Anyway Jeonghan always smells good. I used to steal his shampoo all the time when we were trainees.”
That year, after A-Teen clinched their first Daesang at the MAMA 2023 awards, Seungcheol finally confirmed what their fans had been waiting for.
While A-Teen remained in Japan to celebrate their epic and well deserved win for the megahit “Super”, Seungcheol quietly returned to Korea and posted one final announcement.
The first official photograph of the two parents, a small black and white sonogram nestled between them.
“The real daesang” the photo is captioned, a line that made fans abroad and at home swoon.
“I think the fans who know me have always known I’ve been a romantic at heart. My favorite movie is the Notebook, and I’m still the kind of person who believes in soulmates and love that lasts forever.”
Seungcheol glances at Jeonghan, his mouth curving.
“I’ve never had any reason to believe any of that wasn't true. With the group, there’s a sound we are going for, or a message that we think will resonate with people in society. And as humans I think we all have different personas we want to express and being a musician has allowed me to explore a lot of different themes without necessarily having to live with that kind of drama.”
“Jeonghan’s decorated career in Paris has really put Korea on the map, a huge source of pride that has opened the doors for Woo Youngmi and other talented designers. One of the trends on X lately is #jeonghanaroundtheworld where fans share photographs of Jeonghan’s billboards in cities all over the world, a testament to how far his influence has spread. Having been on tour, have you seen any and can you brag a little about your partner?”
“Where should I even start?” Seungcheol smiles, “I’m probably the top contributor to that trend. Whenever we go on tour, I get to see how much he is loved and how influential his work is I’m always so proud of him. I’ve always thought he deserves the world. I’m not surprised everyone else thinks so too.”
He cards a hand gently through Jeonghan’s hair, an unthinking gesture born of habit.
Jeonghan leans into him, gazing down at their daughter.
“He is beautiful. I know that’s what everybody says when they see him and I get it, I look at him everyday and I’m still blown away sometimes. When the sunlight hits his face in the mornings, or when he’s just laughing at something, it jtakes my breath away. But it’s not just the physical beauty which he has a lot of, he’s so gentle, so loving, you’ll never know someone as lovely as him. Really. He cares so deeply for everyone around him, even if he'll never admit it. I’ve never met someone better.”
He shoots the camera a sharp look. “Don’t get any ideas.”
Sohee lets out a creaky sound, stirring in Jeonghan’s arms. Jeonghan pulls her to his chest, gently cradling her head. “What’s wrong Sohee-ya?”
She lets out a fussy sound, rubbing her little cotton mitts on her face.
“I think she’s hungry.”
Seungcheol is on his feet immediately, pulling his coat around Jeonghan’s shoulders where it is slipping off. “Let me grab the pump.”
Jeonghan shakes his head minutely, tilting his chin toward me. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to go somewhere more private.”
“Hannie–”
They exchange a long look before Seungcheol sighs and nods. He gestures with his eyes and two assistants immediately show up, flanking Jeonghan’s sides.
“I’ll be right there,” he says, pressing a kiss to Jeonghan’s forehead before he releases him reluctantly. Baby Sohee grabs onto his thumb, as if she cannot bear to leave him either.
He stoops down to kiss her little fingers.
“I’ll be there soon baby,” he rumbles.
Jeonghan moves to a room less than two feet away but Seungcheol watches him unblinkingly until the door closes, and looks very close to going after him himself, so I accept that my welcome is almost worn out.
“I don’t want to keep you, but before you go, the fans would love to know what advice you have on how to keep love going while you’re apart.”
“It’s always hard,” Seungcheol says thoughtfully, “especially in the beginning when we were so unsure where our career paths were leading us to. Or if they would work out at all. But I knew from the beginning that I’d do anything to make this work. To me, it’s never been a question. Jeonghan is worth it.”
“There was a period where Jeonghan moved to Paris to work with Saint Laurent and A-Teen was touring Asia. The time difference must have been brutal.”
“It was,” Seungcheol says wistfully, “but we knew what we were getting into. I think the hardest thing for me was not seeing him in person. We lived together for a long time before we debut and I just missed having him around. I missed him a lot. I always miss him. He’s the first person I think about, the person I want to tell everything to, even the small inconsequential things.”
“What are some tips you can share to keep falling in love with your partner over and over again?”
Seungcheol’s mouth curls, like he’s thinking of a fond memory.
“Fall in love with a lovable person,” he chuckles. “That’s my tip. Some people would say to put effort into taking care of your relationships. And it is true, but it never feels like effort with him. I just want to tell him everything, I want to try everything with him, and he always meets me bat for bat.”
“I think it’s just natural for us to want to spend time together. He’s someone I think about all the time, the person who makes everything worth it. Whenever I want to put everything down and run from this world, he’s the one I want to go to. My escape.”
Harpers Bazaar, Winter Edit, 2025