T.O.P and Nana Are Officially Dating
Two second-generation K-pop idols are officially a couple — and they didn’t even try to hide it from Dispatch first.
On October 2, South Korean entertainment outlet Dispatch reported that T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun), the former BIGBANG rapper, and actress Nana (Im Jin-ah), formerly of After School, had been dating for several months. The outlet published photographs of the pair together on dates, including an outing near Achiul Village in Guri City, Gyeonggi Province — an area close to Nana’s home.
Within hours of the dating report surfacing, both sides confirmed the relationship. There was no drawn-out “we’re checking the facts” holding statement, no week of silence. Both agencies simply said yes.
T.O.P’s agency, TOPSPOT PICTURES, explained how the relationship began: “They first met while filming [T.O.P’s] music video and formed a connection, after which they grew closer, and [their connection] developed into a romantic relationship around this past June.” Nana’s agency, Sublime, confirmed the same timeline, stating that the two “formed a connection while filming [T.O.P’s] music video, and they are currently happily dating.”
A Music Video That Turned Into Something More
The project that brought them together was T.O.P’s Studio54 music video, the title track from his first full-length solo album, released in April 2026. Nana starred as the female lead of the video after T.O.P personally reached out to her — and according to both agencies, the two met on set in January, stayed in touch, and grew closer until the relationship turned romantic around June.
Dispatch, citing an acquaintance of the couple, reported that T.O.P and Nana “have a deep understanding of each other,” adding that the two “walked similar paths, including their debuts, careers, rumours and the wounds they have suffered.” It’s an unusually candid framing — and it rings true. Both debuted as idols in the same era, both stepped away from their groups, and both rebuilt themselves as solo artists and actors under intense public scrutiny.
Nana Addressed Fans Herself
Nana didn’t leave all the talking to her agency. She personally addressed the news through the fan communication platform Bubble, and her message was warm, direct, and endearingly honest.
“You must have been taken aback. Me too, and I’m a little embarrassed as well,” she wrote. “We’ll continue to see each other happily and healthily.”
For a dating confirmation — an announcement that in K-pop usually arrives as three sentences of corporate boilerplate — that kind of unguarded note from Nana herself is its own small headline.
Where They Are Now
T.O.P debuted as a member of BIGBANG, one of the most influential boy groups in K-pop history, before announcing his departure from the group in 2023 to focus on solo work. He returned to acting in 2024 with an appearance in Netflix’s Squid Game 2 and followed it up with his first full-length solo album in April 2026.
Nana debuted with the girl group After School and has since established herself primarily as an actress, most recently appearing in the Netflix series Scandal. Nana has been steadily building her acting career since her idol days — and now she’s writing headlines of a different kind.
The Internet Reacts
Reactions to the T.O.P and Nana dating news were mixed — which, for a couple pairing two fandoms this passionate, was always going to be the case. Many fans celebrated the pairing as a strong match, pointing to the visible chemistry between the two in the “Studio54” video and calling it, in one widely shared phrase, “the crossover we never knew we needed.” Others were less enthusiastic, with some online voices questioning the match.
That’s the price of going public in K-pop, and in this case, the couple seems ready to pay it. They dated quietly for months, they got caught by Dispatch, they said yes — and now they’re out. Congratulations to the happy couple.
Photo Credits
Photo: Nicole Voon, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — File:T.O.P 2012 5.jpg
Photo: TV10, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — File:Nana Airport 2023 – 2.png
Photo: TV10, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — File:Nana at Dalba Photo Call, January 13, 2025.png
