While most K-pop fans are respectful of their idols' personal lives, there exist fans who
stalk, invade their privacy and even physically assault them!
This makes idols always live in fear, many of them even gave up using mobile phones,
social networks or certain services.
Although the stories of being attacked by stalkers are not uncommon in Kpop, these things
still make netizens feel extremely frustrated because a part of fans lacks awareness and
has ill-bred behavior.
1.
Eunji (Apink) stopped using Bubble because of stalkers
The first case to mention is Apink's Eunji, who has been suffering from many troubles
related to stalkers.
In December 2021, Eunji posted a long post on Lysn's 'Dear.
U Bubble' about her departure from this service.
'Dear.
U Bubble' is a subscription service where idols send exclusive messages to their fans
and fans can reply, but it is also a tool for stalkers or toxic individuals to seriously
affect idols’ private life.
Not only did these stalkers send spam messages to Eunji, but they also appeared at specific
places where she worked.
Eunji clearly expressed her fear and discomfort in the last status line before leaving the
platform.
She said that she herself thought that 'Dear.
U Bubble' is a comfortable place to connect with Pandas and she used it as frequently
as she could to communicate with them through this platform.
However, contrary to what she thought, there were some people who couldn’t live their
life because they were so overly attached and invested with this app.
Moreover, they crossed the line that other fans were protecting.
Things like that had stressed her out more than she thought so she stopped using the
service after December.
After her post, many people believe that 'Dear.
U Bubble' is not really secure and doesn’t have an optimal solution to protect artists.
Moreover, it is also alleged that 'Dear.
U Bubble' benefits from stalkers when they sign up multiple accounts and pay fees for
it after being blocked by artists and companies.
This is not the first time Eunji has spoken out about this issue.
Previously, Eunji had to post on SNS about some stalkers who were so obsessed that they
found out her address through the photos she uploaded and came to her house, so she had
to stick with audio-only live broadcasts to protect her privacy.
As the stalker situation became more and more serious, Eunji and her agency had to file
a complaint against stalkers in March 2020 on charges of violating the Minor Offenses
Law and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and
Data Protection.
2.
Kang Yeseo was followed and taken photos without her consent
At the beginning of 2019, Kang Yeseo, who was not yet 14 years old at the time, was
added to the lineup of girl group Busters to replace Minjung's position.
At that time, Yeseo's doll-like appearance became a hot topic on the Korean online community,
bringing her lots of fans even though she had just joined the group.
Kang Yeseo continuously worked hard as a member of Busters for about 1 year, until an incident
occurred during the promotion period of "Paeonia" in May 2020.
At that time, Yeseo announced on Instagram that she would interact with fans through
Vlive at 9:30 pm.
The livestream was carried at a cafe shop located in Siheung city, Gyeonggi province,
which is also her hometown.
After her 2-hour livestream, Yeseo ended and went home at nearly 11pm.
At that time, a very infamous stalker in the Busters fandom came over, turned on the flash
and started taking pictures of Yeseo.
The poor girl was all alone without any manager or staff to protect her.
This sasaeng fan repeatedly pointed the camera at Yeseo, took pictures without her permission,
and then publicly posted the photos on SNS.
Yeseo at that time was still a middle school student and was so scared of this situation.
After that night, she had such great psychological fear that she had to confess that she couldn’t
even meet her true fans who love and respect her.
Finally, Kang Yeseo decided to leave the group, ending all activities with Busters at the
end of July 2020.
Yeseo's heartbreaking story only really became popular after she gained more attention on
"Girls Planet 999".
Looking back at what happened at that time, many netizens felt sorry for Yeseo and expressed
their anger toward the impolite and terrible act of the stalker to a teenage girl.
3.
Taeyeon was bodyshamed by stalkers on SNS
Taeyeon used to feel extremely pressured and psychologically affected when facing stalkers.
She has shared on social media many times how tired and scared she feels when those
stalkers try to hurt her both physically and mentally.
The female idol said that there are always people snooping on her and leaving hate comments
like if she gained weight, they said she was fat but if she was thin, they said she looked
too skinny.
Not only that, Taeyeon also can read hateful comments about her anywhere on social networks
and it became a psychological obsession that made her decide to go quiet on social media
for a while.
Taeyeon once revealed that she couldn't sleep at night because she was constantly harassed
by a strange phone number that made her obsessed with phone ringing and scared of mobile devices.
Although the stories of being attacked by stalkers are not uncommon in Kpop, these things
still make netizens feel extremely frustrated because a part of fans lacks awareness and
has ill-bred behavior.
4.
BTS have to use private flights because of stalkers
Another case related to stalkers is the case of V (BTS).
In a livestream chatting with fans at the end of 2019, V revealed the reason why he
hadn't appeared on livestream and social media for a long time.
During the conversation, V mentioned the same situation he encountered on many flights.
V described that whenever he and other members flew, long or short, there were many stalkers
by some way always knowing their flight and seats in advance.
Thus, there are a bunch of people surrounding them from the front and back, even the side,
taking photos of the boys, filming them and bothering them during the trip.
This makes V and the rest of BTS feel scared, uncomfortable and very tired after each flight.
That's why he and the members have started to use private flights instead of commercial
flights.
This is not the first time BTS members have spoken out about being stalked.
Jungkook once revealed in a livestream that he had received many calls from sasaeng fans
and at the time he did that livestream, a sasaeng fan even called him to see if he received
the phone call, and it was exactly his number.
Not only that, many stalkers also tried to approach BTS by going to their hotel, illegally
breaking into their room, taking photos of them and posting on SNS as if it’s a proud
achievement.
This makes ARMYs extremely worried for the members, they tried their best to email HYBE
and provide evidence related to these stalkers so that the company could be aware of this
issue and protect BTS.
5.
Youngjae (GOT7) being followed and attacked through SNS
Another idol, Youngjae (GOT7), once revealed the scary moves of stalkers on his Instagram
account.
He said that the stalkers often go to the places where he was doing his hair and makeup
by tracking his photos on SNS.
Youngjae said that he felt he was threatened by the way they always secretly follow him
everywhere.
These stalkers even took pictures of Youngjae talking with his friends at a cafe and then
went to directly ask him if they could post the picture on SNS.
Youngjae expressed that he was extremely angry and helplessly told them if they wanted to
see someone's life ruined, they could post the pictures and see what happened.
Not only that, during the time Youngjae used Kakaotalk, he was constantly harassed by stalkers
who texted him for freaking 5 months in a row.
Youngjae had to post on Instagram to beg them to stop.
Although the post has been deleted, this is still a horror story that no one could forget.
This endless nightmare made the male idol's life so severely affected that his company
had to announce that they would take the stalkers to court if they didn't stop acting illegally.
Stalkers only think about their joy when stalking idols but they don't realize their actions
can make others’ life become a nightmare.
So, which case do you find scariest?
Are there any other cases that I forgot to mention?
Feel free to share your thoughts with us.
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