In the entertainment industry—especially in major ones like South Korea’s—it’s often believed that true friendship among celebrities is hard to come by. This perception stems from various factors such as fierce competition, the pressure of maintaining a public image, and, most of all, endless rumors.
Because of that, genuine friendship groups like Wooga Squad have instantly earned the public’s affection by openly sharing glimpses of their bond. Wooga Squad—a name beloved by fans—originated from Wooga Family, short for the Korean phrase “우리 가족 패밀리,” meaning “our family.” The group consists of Park Hyung Sik, Peakboy, V (BTS), Park Seo Joon, and Choi Woo Shik.
Not only fans of these celebrities, but even non-fans love seeing top stars hanging out together, supporting one another both personally and professionally. Their reality travel show, “In the SOOP: Friendcation,” ranked among the Top 10 most-watched non-English shows on Disney+ globally (according to FlixPatrol data from August 2022).
This proves just how popular the friendship among these A-list stars really is. But of course, with public attention always comes speculation—sometimes negative.
Not long ago, after V posted a video of himself jogging along the Han River with just Park Seo Joon and Park Hyung Sik, rumors of discord among Wooga Squad members began to spread. Later, netizens noticed that the BTS member had gone running with a new trio of celebrity friends—actors Song Kang and Kim Young Dae among them—fueling fresh suspicions that Wooga Squad’s bond had grown distant.
These rumors eventually reached host Jung Jae Hyung, who decided to ask Choi Woo Shik directly during their conversation on the YouTube show “Fairy Jae-hyung (요정재형)” on the 19th.
Jung jokingly brought up the “Wooga Family,” saying: “Are you guys not close anymore? Did you ask for their thoughts before appearing on Fairy Table?”. This gave the actor a chance to clear the air.
Choi Woo Shik immediately responded: “My friends are all so busy, so we hardly get to meet. Even if we want to, it’s hard to make time. But whenever we do, we always have great conversations. Fortunately, everyone’s doing really well in their own fields.
Jung Jae Hyung followed up: “If you keep filming nonstop, your friends must have no idea where you are, right?” Choi laughed and replied: “I always make sure to check in. Like, ‘I’m in Daegu today,’ or ‘I’m somewhere else today’—that’s how we keep in touch.”
He also spoke about the current state of Wooga Squad: “At first, we were just friends hanging out, and somehow we ended up with a group name. There’s nothing special about it—it just started when one of us brought another friend along, and we all started hanging out together. Lately, everyone’s been so busy that our meetups have become less frequent.”
Recently, Choi Woo Shik has been busy promoting his new film Would You Marry Me, co-starring actress Jung So Min. Meanwhile, V has resumed activities as a K-pop superstar right after completing his military service. He traveled to the U.S. with his fellow BTS members for two months starting in July, and later attended Paris Fashion Week while recording and filming content for the group’s upcoming album.
Not to mention, the other Wooga Squad members also have packed schedules. They’re all top-tier celebrities, not people with spare time on their hands. So it’s only natural that it’s hard for them to find overlapping free time to get together.
What’s disappointing, however, is that some people are so quick to spark breakup rumors or criticize certain members just because of a few photos or coincidences. Although Choi Woo Shik didn’t need to address such baseless rumors, the way he reaffirmed the strong bond among the Wooga Squad effectively shut down toxic speculation, leaving fans completely satisfied.
