K-Pop’s Official Social Butterfly — Here’s How SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan Playfully Shows Off His Celebrity Connections To His Hometown Friends

We’d do the same if we were him.

As SEVENTEEN’s Seungkwan is a small-town boy from Jeju, his hometown friends often ask if he’s close to any big names, such as BTS. When such things happen, of course he has to show off!

During a live stream, he talked about his close friendship with BTS’s Jungkook. They were close enough to call each other for no reason at all. He also began talking about how he shows off his celebrity connections in front of his hometown friends.

He purposely adds suffixes like “hyung,” or calls them by their real names to show off their closeness nonchalantly. In South Korea, you often only move into calling someone “hyung,” “noona,” “unnie,” or “oppa” after you either obtain their permission, or after some degree of closeness is formed. Similarly, calling a celebrity with a stage name by their real name indicates some level of intimacy.

My hometown friends who don’t know much, they ask things like, are you close with anyone in BTS? So I just say like, heh, Jungkook… Jungkookie hyung. You have to add the hyung. Then if other hometown friends or staff say things like, “OMG, Cha Eunwoo is so handsome! Seeing him IRL, he’s so handsome!” You have to call them by their real names. You know the vibe. “Ah, Dongmin hyung? I saw him the day before yesterday.” Purposely giving off that feel.

— Seungkwan

We’d do the same if we were him! Seungkwan is known for his wide circle and reputation as a social butterfly.