...I agree but it isn't like you have to marry someone just because you agree to start dating.
It's all so much more serious than it needs to be because
1) they are famous and the public thinks they can demand to know their personal business
2) she is Korean and I have noticed that writers and Korean drama producers like to pretend that a Korean FL will only date to find true love/get married and that their Korean women are good girls who don't sleep around causally, but if the ML needs to he can sleep with the American women that suddenly appears and
3) Yes he took his time to get here but they have know each other since they were kids so sometimes it is really scary to risk a importantfriendship for that long to date because it might not work out and then it's a coin flip if they remain friends.
Dating to see if there are deeper feelings should be natural.