The crisis that K-pop idols like BTS, TWICE, and EXO are suffering, “Not sasaeng fans, but sasaeng criminals”
As BTS Jungkook complained about sasaeng fans, netizens re-examined times when other idols (TWICE, EXO, Seventeen, etc.) suffered sasaeng attacks.
Earlier, Jungkook and other BTS members talked about their personal information getting exposed and sasaeng fans (stalking fans) several times before. Member V said, “There are people who know that we will be traveling on long-distance flights and they sit in the seats in front of us or next to us. It was very uncomfortable and we couldn’t rest even in our personal space”, adding “I hope it doesn’t happen again. Let’s just stop it right here. That’s so scary, really scary”.
Jungkook also experienced a similar thing. During his stay in the U.S. for the Las Vegas concert, he was attacked through numerous phone calls. Expressing his discomfort, Jungkook said, “Who’s that? Who are you? Why are you making prank calls? Don’t do that. I don’t like this ringtone. This is so annoying and scary. I’m feeling very uncomfortable”.
Nevertheless, sasaeng fans’ excessive behaviors continued. This time, they even found out Jungkook’s home address and delivered food to his house. The male idol firmly stated, “Don’t send delivery food to my house. I won’t eat it anyway”, adding “Thank you but I’m eating well. Please buy food for yourself”, trying to hold his emotions. Jungkook then said, “Please. If you send it to me one more time, I will check the receipt order number and take action. So stop it”.
Not only BTS but many other K-pop idols have frequently experienced sasaeng attacks that expose and infringe their privacy. Personal information of famous K-pop idol group members, such as phone numbers, passport numbers and home addresses, is still being traded on SBS platforms among sasaeng fans, resulting in the crease of personal information leakages.
Red Velvet and TVXQ were no exception. During a past broadcast, U-Know Yunho shared, “Someone took pictures of items in our dorms and sent me via text messages. Even if I changed my phone number, I would still receive calls to the new numbers within five minutes”, giving listeners goosebumps.
In the past, sasaeng fans of TWICE Nayeon even attempted to board the same flight as the female idol and were delusional about dating her. As the situation intensified, Nayeon’s agency stated, “Nayeon is under police protection”. Similarly, EXO Chanyeol reported two Chinese sasaeng fans who illegally broke into his studio to the police. It was shocking to hear that there were people who did not just simply follow him around but also attempted to invade his residence.
Even family weddings and hospitals are not safe from sasaeng fan. This problem has caused physical and emotional distress to not only idols but also their family members. Despite continuous warnings, the problem continues without no reflection or change from the sasaeng fans. Stalking, which can lead to various crimes beyond invasion of celebrities’ privacy, is a serious issue. It is now necessary to take strict and clear legal measures, rather than just simple punishments.
As what these obsessive “fans” have done are beyond normal fans’ behaviors, they should be called ‘stalkers’ instead.
Source: Naver
