Over 20 years after the two actors played together in the hit 2002 MBC drama "Romance," Kim Ha Neul and Kim Jae Won were seen together again in public. This made fans of the show happy and sparked new interest in it.
According to Koreaboo, on February 28, 2026 (KST), Kim Ha Neul posted a bunch of pictures on her social media account that showed her with her former co-star and castmate. The pictures showed the actress alone and with Kim Jae Won, which was their first public appearance together in 24 years.
Kim Ha Neul wrote, "Romance reunited," in the message she posted. This made people feel both happy and sad. The caption went along with pictures that spread quickly on the internet. Many fans said that the actors look almost the same now as they did then, even though decades have passed.
News1 says that details of their reunion came out during a special program on a Japanese satellite network to celebrate the rebroadcast of Romance, an early Hallyu wave hit that became very popular in Japan and all over Asia.
A spokesperson for the event said that the two actors talked about the show, remembered things that happened on set, and talked about how the show affected their careers and made them famous around the world.
Fans reacted in a way that was similar to how the reunion was received, pointing out how their on-screen chemistry seemed to be "effortlessly intact" in shared photos. This feeling showed how much of an impact the two had on audiences.
Another person who commented on the series' controversial premise said, "their teacher-student relationship once sparked debate, but the emotional depth of the story kept fans invested."
The original Romance is about a teacher (played by Kim Ha Neul) and her student (played by Kim Jae Won). This plot was popular at first, but it became more and more controversial over time.
A cultural commentator said, "Romance played a significant role in expanding Korean television's reach overseas, particularly in Japan," to point out how important it was in spreading Korean pop culture abroad in the early days.
As the rebroadcast date gets closer, a lot of fans have gone back and watched some of the show's most memorable scenes, like the one where Kim Ha Neul's character tells Kim Jae Won's that their relationship won't work because she is his teacher.
The public reunion of Kim Ha Neul and Kim Jae Won is both a trip down memory lane and a reminder of how K-dramas from the early 2000s still affect people today, as well as the couples that fans never forgot.
