In Korea, "idols", as celebrities are called, are a huge deal. You can't watch TV without seeing famous faces. They're everywhere in advertisements (fun note: one male idol advertised for a facial moisturizer. The ad campaign? A picture of him, followed by the caption "if you're still dry"). Each group of singers has a specific fanclub, with a designated name and color, like 2PM's metallic grey Hottests, TVXQ's red Cassiopeias, or Shinhwa's orange Shinhwa Changjos. But there's a darker side to Korean idols' fans - sasaeng fans. Note that every example I'll use really happened - nothing is hyperbole.
Sasaeng literally translates to "private life", and saesang fans are a hellish combination of stalkers and paparazzi. They're like stalkers in that they follow their idols everywhere: they stake out their dorms, recording studios, offices, and so on; they pay black-market taxicabs exorbitant fees to follow their idols around 24/7; they break into their idols' residences to take articles of clothing, pee on their hand towels, etc; they send their idols extremely creepy gifts like messages written in menstrual blood. But they aren't just your average creepy stalkers. Oh no, it's worse. They're organized. Each idol group's sasaeng fans work together, splitting up into groups to watch various locations and texting the others after a sighting. Some get jobs at credit card companies just to track the idols' transactions so they can tell the others. In this way they're like paparazzi - they're networked. And they're insanely dedicated; many drop out of high school to pursue full-time stalking, and instead of sleeping at home, crash in pc bangs, stores that sell computer use by the hour.
If you're still not sure how crazy these sasaeng fans are, I'll tell you more of what they've done. They've lied down in a row on the road to prevent their idols from leaving. They've disguised themselves as boys and snuck into the same restroom as their idols. They've endangered themselves and the public through disrupting traffic (even causing a traffic accident that injured their dear idols). They're broken into their idols' houses and tried to kiss them in their sleep. They've crashed their idol's brother's wedding. They've offered $100k (USD) for someone who would steal their idol's underwear. They've tapped their idols' phones, put GPS trackers on their cars, and set up cameras in their parking garages. They've frozen their phone accounts and called every number in their history to see if it was a girl. They've attempted to poison other celebrities that they see as a threat to their idol. There's nothing that can stop a sasaeng fan - not insecticide spray, not managers or idols having to physically fight them off ("[my idol]'s manager hit me!" becomes a badge of honor), not even the idols asking them honestly to please, please stop (recognition just fuels the fire). Even if they hurt their idol, like bruising their face or breaking their finger, it's just proof that they touched them. Other fans who come in contact can be attacked for being competition.
The problem with sasaengs, aside from the rather obvious extreme creepiness, is that there isn't much being done about it. Breaking and entering is illegal, as is indecent assault and the speeds of over 200mph that the sasaeng taxis reach, yet there have been no indictments. Why? Well, for one, there's a wariness among idols and managers to prosecute. Deranged and in need of help as they are, sasaengs are supposedly still fans. At any rate, they do buy the idols' merchandise.... Also, many sasaeng fans are juveniles, and prosecuting schoolchildren may throw off current and potential fans as well as their parents. But those are really just stupid excuses.
Underage or not, sasaeng fans need to stop. "Fan" isn't even a title they deserve; what kind of fan actively makes their idol miserable, pulling out their hair, groping them, throwing rocks at them and spraying them with menstrual blood? There are laws that can be applied, and they should be; if people take issue with human beings trying to retain a modicum of privacy in their already very public life, who cares? If parents say their kids can't buy your music because you protect yourself, what kind of world would we be living in?
For that matter, where do sasaengs' parents get off? Being a sasaeng is time-consuming and expensive. How does a parent not see that their child is doing this? Honestly, there is something mentally wrong with someone who would participate in such behavior. Whether it's an addiction, as one sasaeng has described it, or some other condition, sasaengs need to get medical help. What they do is in no way normal.
K-pop is an industry that thrives on the love and pockets of fans. Idols are constantly offering fanservice, and one of the most common things you will hear is a variation of "we owe everything to our fans". But sasaengs are not fans, and should not be thanked or tolerated. Their parents need to acknowledge what their children are doing and seek medical help, and most importantly, the idols' agencies need to take legal action. The only, only way this can stop is if there are real-world consequences for actions so extreme they sound entirely fictional.
Sasaeng literally translates to "private life", and saesang fans are a hellish combination of stalkers and paparazzi. They're like stalkers in that they follow their idols everywhere: they stake out their dorms, recording studios, offices, and so on; they pay black-market taxicabs exorbitant fees to follow their idols around 24/7; they break into their idols' residences to take articles of clothing, pee on their hand towels, etc; they send their idols extremely creepy gifts like messages written in menstrual blood. But they aren't just your average creepy stalkers. Oh no, it's worse. They're organized. Each idol group's sasaeng fans work together, splitting up into groups to watch various locations and texting the others after a sighting. Some get jobs at credit card companies just to track the idols' transactions so they can tell the others. In this way they're like paparazzi - they're networked. And they're insanely dedicated; many drop out of high school to pursue full-time stalking, and instead of sleeping at home, crash in pc bangs, stores that sell computer use by the hour.
If you're still not sure how crazy these sasaeng fans are, I'll tell you more of what they've done. They've lied down in a row on the road to prevent their idols from leaving. They've disguised themselves as boys and snuck into the same restroom as their idols. They've endangered themselves and the public through disrupting traffic (even causing a traffic accident that injured their dear idols). They're broken into their idols' houses and tried to kiss them in their sleep. They've crashed their idol's brother's wedding. They've offered $100k (USD) for someone who would steal their idol's underwear. They've tapped their idols' phones, put GPS trackers on their cars, and set up cameras in their parking garages. They've frozen their phone accounts and called every number in their history to see if it was a girl. They've attempted to poison other celebrities that they see as a threat to their idol. There's nothing that can stop a sasaeng fan - not insecticide spray, not managers or idols having to physically fight them off ("[my idol]'s manager hit me!" becomes a badge of honor), not even the idols asking them honestly to please, please stop (recognition just fuels the fire). Even if they hurt their idol, like bruising their face or breaking their finger, it's just proof that they touched them. Other fans who come in contact can be attacked for being competition.
The problem with sasaengs, aside from the rather obvious extreme creepiness, is that there isn't much being done about it. Breaking and entering is illegal, as is indecent assault and the speeds of over 200mph that the sasaeng taxis reach, yet there have been no indictments. Why? Well, for one, there's a wariness among idols and managers to prosecute. Deranged and in need of help as they are, sasaengs are supposedly still fans. At any rate, they do buy the idols' merchandise.... Also, many sasaeng fans are juveniles, and prosecuting schoolchildren may throw off current and potential fans as well as their parents. But those are really just stupid excuses.
Underage or not, sasaeng fans need to stop. "Fan" isn't even a title they deserve; what kind of fan actively makes their idol miserable, pulling out their hair, groping them, throwing rocks at them and spraying them with menstrual blood? There are laws that can be applied, and they should be; if people take issue with human beings trying to retain a modicum of privacy in their already very public life, who cares? If parents say their kids can't buy your music because you protect yourself, what kind of world would we be living in?
For that matter, where do sasaengs' parents get off? Being a sasaeng is time-consuming and expensive. How does a parent not see that their child is doing this? Honestly, there is something mentally wrong with someone who would participate in such behavior. Whether it's an addiction, as one sasaeng has described it, or some other condition, sasaengs need to get medical help. What they do is in no way normal.
K-pop is an industry that thrives on the love and pockets of fans. Idols are constantly offering fanservice, and one of the most common things you will hear is a variation of "we owe everything to our fans". But sasaengs are not fans, and should not be thanked or tolerated. Their parents need to acknowledge what their children are doing and seek medical help, and most importantly, the idols' agencies need to take legal action. The only, only way this can stop is if there are real-world consequences for actions so extreme they sound entirely fictional.