Donghae, Dara Address 20-Year Dating Rumors; SE7EN Revealed as Key Connection

Super Junior member Lee Donghae (이동해) recently hosted Sandara Park (박산다라), better known as Dara of 2NE1, on his YouTube show, "Donghae Mul and Baekdu Eunhyuk." The two not only recalled their early pre-debut days but also addressed the long-standing dating rumors that once surrounded them. Donghae couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Many fans truly believed we were dating."

From the start of the episode, Donghae warmly welcomed Dara, revealing they had known each other since high school. "We've known each other for a really long time. We met in high school, so we started speaking informally back then," he shared.

Donghae then brought up their past dating rumors, chuckling, "Even though it was a long time ago, many fans still think we dated." Eunhyuk, sitting beside him, added with a laugh, "Back then, if male and female idols were even slightly close, dating rumors would immediately spread. Didn't I also have a completely absurd rumor with Lee Bo-ram (이보람)?"

Dara mentioned that Donghae had previously shared on his YouTube show "Jipdaeseong" how, as a trainee, he met pre-debut G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong, 권지용) and Taeyang (Dong Young-bae, 동영배) of BIGBANG through SE7EN (Choi Dong-wook, 최동욱). She playfully teased him, saying, "I was there too, but you didn't mention me at all."

She recalled that BIGBANG and 2NE1 had not yet debuted, and only SE7EN was a superstar. "Whenever SE7EN *hyung* called trainees out, we'd go eat Korean barbecue. The regulars back then were G-Dragon, Taeyang, Jang Hyun-seung (장현승), and me. Gong Min-ji (공민지) was too young to join us," she explained.

Hearing this story, Eunhyuk playfully ribbed Donghae, "You infiltrated YG Entertainment back then, didn't you? You were practically a YG spy." Donghae laughed in response, "I really loved YG back then, especially SE7EN's 'Come Back to Me' (와줘). When SE7EN *hyung* called me, I thought, 'He's actually calling me?'"

However, Donghae also revealed that his actual first meeting with Dara happened even earlier than these trainee memories. He recounted that shortly after exchanging contact information with SE7EN, he received a sudden call inviting him to watch a movie. SE7EN specifically mentioned, "A friend from the Philippines will be joining us."

Donghae admitted that because Dara had spent a long time in the Philippines and internet information wasn't as readily available back then, he had no idea how to communicate with her. "I kept thinking, 'How am I going to talk to someone from the Philippines?'"

As it turned out, both of them were shy and slow to warm up, barely speaking throughout the entire movie. Donghae laughed, "I kept trying to figure out how to say hello in Filipino, but after the movie, she only said, 'Please go safely' (안녕히 가세요) to me. That's how our first meeting ended."

Dara also added with a laugh that she was naturally quiet back then. "At that time, I probably only said one or two sentences a day. I had almost no friends in Korea, so SE7EN always took good care of me and hoped I would get closer to everyone." Through the show, the two clarified their long-standing dating rumors, allowing fans to witness their precious, over 20-year friendship that spanned different agencies.