Out K-Pop Star Holland Reveals He Has a Boyfriend

Gay K-Pop star Holland used a live stream with fans last week to reveal he is dating and has a significant other!

"I have a boyfriend," Go Tae-seob, better known by his stage name Holland, said simply during the live stream with fans, adding "damn" for emphasis.

"He's very handsome and kind, tall," the 26-year-old added, describing his new beau.

Holland was tight-lipped on details about his new boyfriend, giving little information except to say the new love of his life is a "normal person" and not a celebrity or idol and not at all involved in the entertainment industry.

"I wanna marry him," Holland said of his future with his man.

Fans were overwhelmingly positive in their support for Holland, although some expressed disappointment that they were not the object of Holland's affections.

"Happy for you babe," wrote one fan before adding, "but also lowkey wanna be the boyfriend."

Others just pined for a boyfriend of their own.

Holland is generally heralded as the first out, gay K-Pop star. He stayed in the closet when it came to his parents until he made his debut in 2018, but he came out to his friends while he was still in middle school. News quickly spread, though, and he was often bullied for his sexuality.

"When I decided to come out in [my] middle school days, I told one of my closest friends about being gay," Holland told the Korean video channel Pran, according to SCMP. "The next day everyone in school was gossiping about it."

Rather than withdraw back into the closet, Holland decided he was going to embrace his sexuality and identity.

"There are not many celebrities in Korea who speak up for human rights," Holland told the local television show SBS PopAsia, according to SMCP. "I thought there's got to be someone like me who discloses their sexual identity."

Part of that visibility included the 2019 release of his debut video Neverland, which netted 1 million views in less than 24 hours. The video is tame, but still received a 19+ South Korean rating for its LGBTQ+ content.

Holland said it has not always been easy living as an out celebrity in culturally conservative South Korea, and he said he was cautioned against living his truth in the glare of the celebrity spotlight.

"The agencies I spoke to prior to my debut told me not to disclose it," Holland revealed to KPOP Herald in 2019. "After I came out and debuted though, that was not an issue anymore."

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