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'Things get strange': Kim Min-jae's divorce announcement leaves German media bemused

Published: 23 Oct. 2024, 11:12 Updated: 23 Oct. 2024, 11:13

JIM BULLEY
[email protected]

Kim Min-jae [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The announcement of Kim Min-jae’s divorce earlier this week left the German media confused, not because of the unexpected breakdown of his marriage but because the Bayern Munich star formally announced it through his agency and apologized to fans.

“After careful consideration, Kim Min-jae has decided to end his marriage,” Kim’s agency Orange Ball said in a statement earlier this week. “The divorce process has been completed through mutual agreement.

“We would like to apologize for causing concern among those who love and support Kim Min-jae with this bad news.”

The announcement, a typical procedure for Korean celebrities, was picked up media in Germany, where a football player opting to reveal such personal information through their agency is unusual.

That the agency apologized for the divorce was seen as even more unusual.

“At the end of the press release, things get strange: The agency actually apologized to Kim's fans for the divorce!,” German tabloid Bild reported on Monday.

In Europe, athletes’ personal lives are often the subject of tabloid speculation but are rarely commented on by the athletes themselves. When athletes do opt to discuss their private lives with fans, they tend to do it directly through their personal social media channels, not via an official agency statement.

But Kim’s decision to release a statement fits with the Korean norm, where fans tend to be heavily invested in all aspects of their favorite celebrities’ public and personal lives. In the most extreme cases, this can lead to fans turning on a star because they failed to disclose a new relationship or change in marital status.

To mitigate that risk and control the narrative, agencies often play a far more active role in managing public image in Korea, including controlling social media channels and releasing press releases related to changes in an athletes’ public or private life.

The German coverage was not all polite bemusement, however.

Bild’s article ended with the line: “But even the very polite Korean manner can't protect against a failed marriage!," an apparent reference to the racial stereotype that all Korean men are mild-mannered and amiable.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]