Actress Kim Jin Kyung faces online hate as South Korea's World Cup exit looms, weeks after giving birth without goalkeeper husband Kim Seung Gyu by her side

It's 2026, and we are still dealing with the same old toxic behaviour from sports fans. The latest target is Kim Jin Kyung, a new mom and actress who has absolutely nothing to do with how South Korea's national team or her husband and goalkeeper Kim Seung Gyu are performing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Yet, she's the one who had to lock down her Instagram comments because people went completely unhinged. This is exactly the type of toxic stan culture we keep seeing, where partners of celebrities, mostly women, are held accountable for things that aren't their fault.



South Korea's 2026 World Cup campaign seems to be coming to an end after a 0-1 loss to South Africa in their final Group A match on June 24th. Needing just a draw to secure their spot in the knockout rounds, the Taegeuk Warriors couldn't get the job done. The decisive moment came in the 63rd minute when South Africa's Thapelo Maseko scored the only goal of the match, sending South Korea packing with a third-place finish in the group.

Fans are placing the blame squarely on goalkeeper Kim Seung Gyu for the elimination, pointing to two critical moments in the tournament. First, they haven't forgotten his costly mistake against Mexico, where he failed to hold onto a shot, gifting Luis Romo an easy goal that resulted in a 0-1 defeat. Then, against South Africa, despite making several important saves early on, he couldn't stop Maseko's powerful strike, pushing Korea to third spot in the group.


While they missed out on automatic qualification, South Korea remain in contention for one of the eight best third-placed spots, with their Round of 32 hopes now depending on results in the remaining group-stage matches.


Let's process this. Fans believe Kim Seung Gyu made a critical error during the match against Mexico that led to a goal. Instead of just criticising his performance, fans took it to the next level.

They flooded his wife's social media pages with hate comments. This even included a video she posted about giving birth to their daughter! The shocking part is that Seung Gyu wasn't even there for the birth because he was preparing for the World Cup and only got to see his baby through a video call. So not only is she raising a newborn mostly alone, but she's also getting attacked by strangers online for a soccer game. Talk about unfair.


People are calling this out for what it is: bullying.

One user wrote, "Korean netizens are bullying online. I'm glad Brazilians are giving them a taste of their own medicine. Just look at how they treat their own people, it's unbelievable."

Another user pointed out the obvious absurdity of the situation, saying, "Harassing a mom over a football match? It's just toxic bullying with zero accountability. Leave her and the baby out of it."


Some are even speculating about the deeper reasons for the anger. "I bet they are mad because they lost to a black country; if someone like usa beat them, they'd be smiling and happy," read one comment.

Another person summed up the general feeling of disgust: "I'm not Korean nor a soccer expert, but seeing how Korean fans treat them is unacceptable; they are so toxic, it's so unbelievable, smh."


For those who don't know, Kim Jin Kyung is a well-known South Korean actress and model. She first rose to fame as the runner-up on Korea's Next Top Model in 2012 before successfully transitioning into acting. She has appeared in dramas including Andante (2017), Tofu Personified (2018), and Perfume (2019), as well as the web drama Yellow, which marked her acting debut.

Kim married South Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung Gyu in June 2024, and the couple recently welcomed their first daughter. As a new mom, she should be enjoying this precious chapter with her family, not dealing with the wrath of angry sports fans.