BTS’s juggernaut status means they have one of the most powerful fandoms in the world, but it also means they aren’t immune to stalking — and now, BTS member V is opening up about it all.
During a recent live broadcast on South Korean app VLIVE, BTS's V, whose real name is Kim Taehyung, addressed some of the experiences the group has had with "scary" stalker fans. Tae touched upon the group’s recent interactions with fans who go steps too far, and he admitted they are the reason the group has recently favored flying private. “I should say this on our team’s behalf,” he started off saying, per VLIVE’s official translation. “You know how we get on planes by ourselves? We fly on a charter flight. We actually want to fly on a regular flight. But when we travel long distance or short distance, fans may know beforehand that we will be boarding and sit next to us, or in front of us.”
“There are those fans,” he continued, before issuing a call to action. “In those private spaces, we don’t get to relax as much as we want to. So we were a bit uncomfortable. [And] to be frank with you, we don’t want you to do that. [...] It's really scary."
Though completely unjustified, this kind of invasive behavior from fans is not uncommon in the world of K-pop. These stalkers are referred to as “sasaeng” fans or often simply "sasaengs" — meaning “private life” — and South Korean idols, companies and international fans are more than aware of these practices and have public documents with blacklisted “fans.”
Calling sasaengs out publicly, as Taehyung did, is not quite the norm, but it’s not the first time BTS has spoken on the topic. Back in July, Jungkook received a call from a sasaeng during a live broadcast and briefly addressed the situation. “This is a call from a fan. It’s saying ‘You’re doing a V-Live and I just called to check’. What I do is, I immediately blocked the call. I actually get a lot of calls from sasaeng fans,” he reportedly said at the time.
Earlier this month, EXO’s Kai also addressed sasaengs during an Instagram live. The singer had taken to Instagram to show off his new hairdo but took the time to speak up on some fans’ inappropriate behavior. “Also, this is unrelated but it seems like there are sasaengs outside the dorm,” Kai reportedly said. “I’ll call the police. Leave quickly.”
All human beings deserve respect and privacy. Stalking someone — famous or not — is never okay, and thankfully, most fans seem to agree.
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