Sasaeng Fans Issue Re-examined After Recent Incident During Enhypen’s Schedule In China
The incident of Chinese sasaeng fans gathering at Enhypen’s hotel recently is drawing keen attention
On March 16th, Enhypen left for their schedule in Shanghai. Later, videos of sasaeng fans gathering in the parking lot of a building believed to be Enhypen’s accommodation to wait for the members spread on X (formerly Twitter).
When a man believed to be Enhypen’s Jay got out of the car, sasaeng fans immediately rushed toward him to take photos. The bodyguards shouted loudly and tried to stop the sasaeng fans from approaching the members. Enhypen struggled to get through the crowd and entered their accommodation.
A Korean fan later revealed a video clip, expressing their frustration through the caption, saying “Is it real? They are doing a random dance in the parking lot of the hotel”. The video showed many Chinese sasaeng fans dancing to Enhypen “Sweet Venom”.
In response to the behavior of Chinese sasaeng fans, Korean fans complained, “That’s so scary. They’re going to cause trouble”, “Chinese sasaeng fans are really on the next level. I guess they think meeting the idols is more important than idols’ safety”, “Some even took photos while sitting right next to the members on the plane. It makes me get goosebumps”, “How could they even dance in the parking lot? Is it like a culture there?”, etc.
Not only Korean fans but Chinese fans were also angry. They reacted, “Please stop approaching Enhypen”, “Shouldn’t we protect your idols’ privacy?”, “They’re so crazy. So embarrassing”, “I’m Chinese but I don’t want the members to go to China. I don’t want them to get hurt”, etc.
Sasaeng fans tend to be very possessive. It all starts with their delusion that they love their idols more than other fans. They believe that they need to know more about their idols and express it through actions. Such irritating behaviors are undeniably side effects of their excessive love for idols.
In Korea, the Stalking Punishment Act has been in effect ever since 2021. Although there are still many doubts about its effectiveness, it is true that the level of punishment has been raised. In fact, K-pop fans have been saying “Sasaeng fans are not fans” and their awareness of sasaeng behaviors has been raised after various serious incidents caused by sasaeng fans.
However, issues related to sasaeng fans are still critical. The Chinese government has announced measures called “10 plans to eradicate chaotic fandom culture”, but practical punishment has not been properly carried out even within China. Therefore, it’s still hard to guarantee the safety of foreign singers when they come to China.
