Song Joong-ki (left) and Song Hye-kyo get married in an intimate outdoor ceremony on October 31, 2017 at Yeong Bin Gwan, a Korean-style banquet annex to The Shilla hotel in Seoul. Photo: VCG

Chinese netizens were shocked after news of South Korean celebrity couple Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo's divorce hit the web on Thursday, many claiming marriage becomes increasingly elusive.

The news hit after Song Joong-ki issued a statement through his lawyer on Thursday saying that he officially filed for divorce from Song Hye-kyo at Seoul Family Court on Wednesday.

"We both hope to settle the divorce process in a smooth manner, rather than attack and blame each other," the statement said according to K-pop news site Koreaboo.

The hashtag for the couple's divorce news on Sina Weibo had been posted 529,000 times and viewed 2.06 billion times as of press time. 

The news was a huge shock for Chinese fans of the couple. 

"This is totally unexpected! Song Joong-ki once pursed and loved her so much, but now everything is gone. I do not believe in love anymore," Liang Shixuan, an English teacher living in Beijing and a fan of the couple, told the Global Times. 

"The news when they got married was too sensational, even my mother who did not care about South Korean entertainment has heard about the news. But now they have filed for divorce. I still hope it is fake news," one Chinese netizen commented on Sina Weibo.

According to an online poll launched by Sina Weibo on Thursday, nearly 93,000 Chinese thought the divorce was fake news, 116,000 people said they don't believe in love anymore and 232,000 people wished the two celebrities a good future on their own. 

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who attended the couple's wedding ceremony, also posted on Sina Weibo saying that she respects their choice and hopes for the best for them both. 

Song Hye-kyo later issued a statement through her agency United Artists Agency (UAA) explaining that their split was due to differences in personality.

"Our actress, Song Hye-kyo, is currently divorcing her husband after careful consideration between the two. The reason was due to differences in personality. The two were unable to overcome their differences, which led to this decision," according to a report from Koreaboo.

"'Personality divergence' is often the reason cited for divorce among stars in South Korea and China as well, which is not a convincing reason. I don't believe they didn't know each other's personalities until they got married," Chen Mao, an art designer living in Shanghai, told the Global Times. 

How the two will divide their assets has been another point of discussion. According to South Korean law, if the divorcing parties cannot reach an agreement through negotiation, they must turn to the court to solve the problem of property division and alimony.

Song Joong-ki revealed the news on Thursday morning, a day after submitting his divorce application. It is very rare for a star to announce a divorce at the beginning of divorce mediation, according to reports.

While the news of the divorce came as a surprise to many, South Korean media actually speculated earlier this year that the couple might get a divorce, claiming that Song Joong-ki had an affair with Song Hye-kyo's makeup teacher and pointing out that Song Hye-kyo was not wearing her wedding ring during a public event. 

However, Song Joong-ki denied this rumor at a press conference, saying their relationship was very stable. 

The couple got married in October 2017 after they met while filming the 2016 hit drama series Descendants of the Sun.

"I was so native and stupid to believe that the love in a TV drama could come true in real life after they got married. Now, I am going to delete the downloaded episodes of Descendants of the Sun from my computer," Gao Yanan, a fan of the South Korean stars who works at the Beijing International Airport, told the Global Times.