On February 17th, BTS held a special “V Live” to countdown to and celebrate J-Hope‘s birthday with their amazing army of fans! However, during the live broadcast, fans noticed a figure open the door, snap a picture, and leave, prompting everyone to freak that the guys had a stalker situation on their hands. “Im watching Jhope’s vlive yesterday and i found something! Look that sasaeng fan who opened the door to see bts!” one fan wrote on Twitter. “SORRY BUT PLEASE PROTECT BTS! THEY GET DANGER FROM SASAENG FAN,” another added. Members of the army also tweeted directly to Big Hit Entertainment and criticized them for having “lax security” and begging them to “protect BTS.”
Big Hit quickly responded to the situation and clarified that there was no sasaeng fan. “We have confirmed that the person in question was not a sasaeng fan, but a member of the agency’s staff. Outside people could not possibly have entered,” they explained, adding that the agency thoroughly protects their artists. Phew! For those reading who are unaware, a “sasaeng fan” is “an over-obsessive fan of a Korean idol, or other public figure, that has engaged in stalking or other behavior that constitutes an invasion of privacy.”
https://twitter.com/_ascian/status/1097511242242109441
https://twitter.com/Cloudberry___/status/1097182770944602112
K-Pop groups have been victims of extreme cases of sasaeng fans throughout the years. The group EXO was almost kidnapped by a sasaeng posing as their van driver after an event. BTS’s Chase was even chased down the street when he was exiting a cafe, even after a cameraman tried to get the the excited fans to give him space. Another disturbing sesaeng-related accident occurred Super Junior‘s Heechul and Leeteuk were involved in a 7-vehicle car accident when sasaeng fans pursued them in an actual car chase! Well, we’re so glad that BTS is safe and the Army can be at peace!