Jang Dong-gun, Ko So-young admit to dating

Top stars Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young took the country by surprise on Thursday after revealing that they have been dating.

"Their relationship has been developing into that of lovers after having been good friends for a long time," Jang's agency AM Entertainment said in a press release.

AM however, denied the two had talked about nor settled any details regarding marriage, playing down reports from earlier in the day that the couple were planning on marrying in December.

Over several occasions, the two were rumored to be in a relationship since appearing together in 1999 film "Love Wind, Love Song" but both movie stars had denied the rumors everytime.

Jang, one of Korea's top actors since his debut in 1993, has won several critical acclaims including the award for Best Supporting Actor for 2001 hit film "Friend" at the 2001 Asia Pacific Film Festival and the Best Actor Award for "Taegukgi" at the 2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards. He recently starred in box office topper "Good Morning President" which was also the opening film for the Pusan International Film Festival last month.

Ko has appeared in over a dozen films since debuting in 1993. She rose to stardom with 1997 hit film "Beat" in which she appeared alongside co-star Jung Woo-sung.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr