Tei Clears Rumors About Sexuality

Ballad singer Tei recently talked about the speculating rumor as to his sexual orientation. On the September 26th episode of Star Golden Bell, he said, "When I was promoting my album, I of course did many interviews. Many journalists told me that they were worried about me as there were rumors that I was romantically involved with a man." The singer cleared the misunderstanding as well by explaining why this sort of rumor would rise. "I don't smoke nor do I drink," said Tei. "Instead I like to talk in a coffee shop with my (male) friends." He also mentioned that Korean men don't usually go to the theatres with other men, but he does. Other guests on the show like Nam Hee-seok, Park Sung-gwang and Kim Tae-hyeon jokingly responded, "That's what love is." Tei then stated that he "digs women." Response from netizens has been fairly positive; some have remarked, "We (Koreans) need to fix our views and awareness of how we look at certain things." Others added, "It's idiotic how they assume he must be having a gay relationship just because he is simply talking with members of the same sex." It's good to see such groundless rumors being cleared. That being said, while branding someone with the "gay label" based on assumptions shouldn't be condoned, Koreans (or anyone, for that matter) shouldn't be ashamed of their orientation by any means.