How do popular actors feel about skinship? Both Joo Won, who currently stars in the manga-based drama "Tomorrow Cantabile," and Ahn Jae Hyun, last seen in the police drama "You're All Surrounded," recently spoke about skinship on the JTBC show "Witch Hunt."
The word skinship is a combination of the words friendship and skin. In Korea skinship can refer to skin-to-skin physical contact such as affectionately touching the other person. Skinship tends to happen at a later point in a male-female relationship in Korea than would generally be considered comfortable in the U.S. or Europe. Public displays of affection are rare between dating couples.
The conversation on the program turned to the subject of skinship when a male viewer expressed concern about his girlfriend asking for more skinship. The idea seemed to upset him. It was a problem Joo Won had something to say about.
"I also prefer it when my girlfriend is shy about having skinship in the beginning instead of being enthusiastic," said Joo Won. "But she probably can't continue being shy even after being in the relationship for a long time. It's natural to become more honest."
But he is not uncomfortable about physically expressing affection with his male friends. It helps friends grow closer. That statement led to him being teased about being affectionate with his male friends so it would look normal when he did it with his female friends.
Ahn Jae Hyun also spoke about skinship. A female viewer spoke about rejecting physical affections from men. Ahn Jae Hyun said he had rejected a woman's advances before.
"I′ve also rejected a woman′s skinship," said Ahn Jae Hyun. "In the past, this one woman pushed me up against a wall and tried to do some skinship on me. The situation was so surprising that I just rejected her."
But it would be different if he were already seeing someone. The host Shin Dong Yeop asked him if his girlfriend were the one being affectionate, how would he react? That was a different story.
"If she really wants skinship, then shouldn′t I accept it?"
The episode airs on October 31. Joo Won and model-turned actor Ahn Jae Hyun can both be seen in the webtoon film adaptation of "Fashion King." Joo Won will play a high school student who transforms himself into a fashionista to win the most popular girl in school, played by Park Se young. Ahn Jae Hyun will play the toughest fighter in the school.
