KUALA LUMPUR: Fans are the lifeblood of K-Pop but over-obsessive fans can be a potential danger and an annoyance to everyone as popular girl group Twice found out recently.
According to Koreaboo, a sasaeng, or over-zealous superfan, spooked fans of Twice, dubbed Onces, when he revealed his intentions online to track down Twice member Nayeon in South Korea.
Apparently, fans have been aware of the crazed stalker since two months ago when he had attempted to get close to the 24-year-old Korean idol by employing various methods which included messaging her friends on social networking sites.
Regular fans were genuinely worried for her safety when the stalker recently messaged that he would be in South Korea sometime this week.
They had rallied together to bring this to the attention of the group’s agency, JYP Entertainment. This included tagging the official JYP Nation Twitter account in threads and using the hashtag #ProtectNayeon.
Apparently, the person in question had revealed detail plans online to meet up with Nayeon. One part of it was even to show up at the home of J.Y. Park, the founder and CEO of JYP.
The stalker seriously believes that he will eventually end up with Nayeon and that the two will relocate to Australia after they get married.
Meanwhile, Soompi reported that JYP had released a statement earlier today which read: “We are fully aware of the fact that there are statements suggesting stalking behaviour being spread on social media and communities. We are considering possible legal measures to be taken, and we will employ guards for our artiste in question. We ask fans to actively report to us on the matter, and we will take the best measures possible to ensure the safety of our artiste.”
On another note, Soompi also reported that JYP had released another statement to address a separate incident that befell Twice yesterday.
Apparently, the nine-member girl group had just returned from Japan after completing their activities there and were at Gimpo International Airport in South Korea.
They were greeted by a horde of fans and many had attempted to snap photos of Twice at the venue. Unfortunately, this resulted in member Jihyo tripping over a fan who had fallen on the floor.
The issued statement by JYP read: “Today, at Gimpo International Airport, there was an incident where our artiste fell and was hurt due to disorderly and excessive photography. Following artistes at the airport after the immigration inspection is officially prohibited according to the blacklist rules, so engaging in this behaviour will result in a ban from participating in activities like TV broadcasts.
“If this issue occurs again, we may have to take legal action. We are letting you know that we are looking into legal options in case this becomes a repeated issue. The issue of safety is not only for the artistes but also for the fans and the general public. We ask you to keep order at official appearances and refrain from prohibited behaviour like following Twice during unofficial activities.
“As a company, we are always aware when prohibited behaviour like this occurs, and we are always looking into legal options for the incidents that are within the scope of the law. As an agency, we will do our best to protect the safety of our artistes.”