K-pop idols work day-night for their fans. But what happens when their fans become their biggest nightmare?
Fans cannot see everything that is happening in an idol's life. So k-pop idols comminute with their fans. They even post photos of their daily life or go live and chat with their fans. They also have fan signing events where fans get to see their idols. But the problem starts when fans don’t respect their idol’s privacy and interfere in their private life.
In Korean 'sasaeng' means private life. And sasaeng fans are fans who interfere in their idol’s private life.
Sasaeng fans are possessed about their favorite stars. They know their phone numbers, family details, flight details, or which hotel they would be staying in. Some Ssasaeng fans even work at a call center just to know their phone number. After getting to know their phone numbers, they don’t stop there. They start to call them until someone picks up the phone. They also sell personal details of the star on social media platforms like kakao talk and others.
There is also something called “sasaeng taxi”. Unlike a normal taxi, you have to pay a big amount of money just to follow their idol wherever they go.
Taeyeon is the leader of girl’s generation. And once she was almost kidnapped by an obsessive fan.
To follow them or know their details costs a lot of money. Nowadays, a lot of teenagers are fans of k-pop idols but they don’t have enough money to do all of that. And they sometimes don’t hesitate to resort to unscrupulous means to earn money.
Most of the fans become sasaeng fans because they want idols to remember them. They want to be closer to them more than anyone. Sasaeng fans desire to gain recognition from their favorite k-pop star or any public figure. The agencies of the star don't sit idle. Some agents take legal action against these fanatic fans.
Here are some incidents that caught people’s attention.
The German sasaeng
The famous girl group Twice’s member Nayeon and her German sasaeng fan Josh are making headlines. Josh followed the group and also boarded the same flight as them. The fans got to know about this when, on Twice’s official Instagram, someone posted a story with this caption "please go home, please stop. I’m begging you." Josh has a YouTube account where he posted videos of his feeling for Nayeon. He gave details of what happened on the flight. He also posted Chaeyoung’s personal phone on social media. This caused problems for Chaeyoung and other Twice members. For him, it’s only his feelings but for Twice it became a big problem. Their agency JYP is looking into this matter.
Car accidents
Super Junior is a well-known k-pop group in Korea. Heechul is a member of Super Junior. Super Junior had the first Asia-wide live concert called “Super Show”. During Super Show 3 in Singapore in 2011, Kim Hee-chul and Leeteuk (another member of Super Junior) got into a car accident when some fans were chasing their car. The accident involved 7 cars, including 5 cars of fans. Both Leeteuk and Kim Hee-chul were fine. Heechul also had a car accident before this one. Due to his car accidents, Kim Hee-chul can’t dance properly on stage. That’s the reason why Kim Hee-chul only appears sometimes while the group performs. He decided to promote Super Junior in other ways.
Taeyeon's incident on stage
Girls Generation is still called the legendary girl group of k-pop. They are the ones who made many people come into this k-pop world. Taeyeon is the leader of girl’s generation. And once she was almost kidnapped by an obsessive fan. While performing “Run Devil Run” (a famous song of Girls Generation) onstage at a concert, a fan sneaked past the event security and made his way on stage where he tried to pull Taeyeon away from her performance. Fortunately, member Sunny and the security were able to push him away.
Exo and sasaeng fans:
One of the popular boy bands Exo has many stories of sasaeng fans.
There are the secret recording cases. Fans set a recorder in their gifts or in the idol's dorm to see what the idols are doing. This is how a fan installed a recorder in a hotel where Exo was staying. The fan installed a recorder in the bathroom. Also recorded the sound of Tao (former Exo) humming a song. Also clicked pictures of him. Another sasaeng fan rented an identical van like Exo then attempted to get the members into the vehicle. His manager thought something was off and stopped them.
Imagine someone following you everywhere you go, messaging, and calling you constantly. And when you come back home from work you see strangers banging your door and searching for you. Terrifying! The feeling is same for the k-pop idols. Fans need to back off and give them space. Their personal life should remain personal.
Nufaiysa M Rahman is a 7th grader at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Dhaka