Song Hye-kyo shares close-up photo with Japanese friend: Who is he?

Actor Song Hye-kyo has drawn attention after posting a cozy photo of herself arm-in-arm with a Japanese man.

Song shared a black-and-white photo on her social media account Sunday showing her in an affectionate, close pose with a man, drawing considerable interest from fans.

She captioned the image "My beloved friend♥" and tagged the account of Yusuke Saeki.

Yusuke Saeki is a well-known Japanese makeup artist. The two are said to have maintained a close friendship across borders for many years.

In the photo, Song wears a casual oversized zip-up hoodie and a baseball cap pulled low, leaning her head slightly toward Saeki's shoulder while linking arms with him — a pose so natural it could pass for that of longtime partners.

Meanwhile, Song parted ways with UAA, the agency she had been with for about 14 years, in June and moved to AAP, a newly established management company that also represents Go Youn-jung and Noh Yoon-seo, among others.

Her upcoming project, the Netflix original series "Tantara," is set for release in the second half of the year. The show is set against the backdrop of South Korea's entertainment industry during the 1960s through 1980s — an era rife with brutality and violence — and follows the rise of those who had nothing but threw themselves wholeheartedly into chasing a dream of success. The cast includes Song along with Gong Yoo, Seolhyun, Cha Seung-won and Lee Ha-nui.