On the subject of sasaengs in k-pop:
I've been thinking a lot about sasaengs and the prevalence of them in South Korean idol pop culture and I'm doing something that's probably reaching for the sky, but it's something that I have to do, something that I want to do. I like stories. I like writing. I like creating fanfiction to help me make sense of reality and this is something that I've been thinking about for a long time.
I lived in Taipei for a few months when I was a teenager. One day, me and my mom went for a walk to get breakfast and we walked out of our apartment and as we passed by the building next to us, she pointed to the big one down the alleyway and told me:
"You see that building? Jay Chou lives there."
It was a complete shock to me at the time because I lived in Dallas and even the closest celebrity (probably an athlete) was unfathomably far away. I began thinking about the relativity of size and distance and then this happened:
You're a young Korean girl living in South Korea. Probably very quiet, probably sexually inexperienced/ignorant, probably told to focus on school and not to pay attention to boys--as your parents raised you to be. You see an idol on television, most of whom are skinny, and styled and shaped to appeal to someone like you. At first, you're just a normal fan. You buy their music, you gaze from afar, you go on internet message boards to find out more about them because it's your homage to them. And then, at some point, you find out where they live.
Your intent isn't to interfere with their anything, your intent is just to go see. You're curious about your idol, you want to know everything about them, and you already know everything about them from what you see online, so you want just that little something more. You go to their apartment once, maybe twice, maybe it takes three times for you to see them and when you see them in person, you're starstruck. You take pictures, upload them online, and get praised for it. It becomes a drug to you, this praise. You get so little of it in reality--you're an ordinary girl and your parents love you, surely, but Asian parents are scarce with their compliments. All you want is to be appreciated for something. Eventually this praise will become more important to you than anything your parents say--remember this.
For now, let's go back to the happiness: people tell you "oh it's so high quality" "oh you got to see them" "daebak!!" And it wasn't so much trouble the first time so you go back a second time. You have a lot of free time, schoolwork doesn't take you that long to complete at your current level. You take more pictures, post them, repeat the pattern. And then one day, someone approaches you--another girl, similar circumstances, and says "aren't you [your username]? I love your pictures!"
Joy! You've found a kindred spirit, someone who likes these idols just as much as you do. Your schoolmates don't understand, they're fine with liking idols, but going on message boards? That's too much. You don't want to risk social suicide by being known as "the idol fan". You two become friends. Share pictures, share posts online, meet up to take pictures and follow them around. It's a social activity and it's not hurting anyone.
And then, maybe, someone you don't like online comes and start taking pictures of them too. You feel jealousy--as though someone was hitting on your boyfriend--they're getting the same pictures you are, they're getting the same praise. You don't realize that it's just pictures, you don't realize that your way of thinking is actually a little warped, claiming possession over something that's not yours, because you've never told anyone else that you liked your idol group to this extent. There's no one to raise their eyebrow at you, there's no one who'll laugh at you and remind you of how society views your kind of thinking--there's no one but your friend beside you who's equally as mad as the other people stealing you guys's praise as you are.
Your behavior escalates. They're getting pictures of idols coming out of their houses too? We'll get pictures of idols coming out of their studios. Restaurants. Concerts. It's not hard--Seoul is so small and close together, it's only a matter of effort to jump in a taxi cab and ask them to follow a car. And to this point, you're not hurting anyone.
Over time, you develop a network. One person waits here, one person waits there, one person provides money, one person keeps everyone synchronized. The effort isn't hard, you love your idols so much. You become protective of your content, protective of your idols. You have a right to be, you know more about them than anyone else, you have been alongside them longer than any of the sluts that their company just debuted have known them for. You're past the point of praise, now you want exclusivity. No one can see your pictures except who you choose.
Now, you feel entitled. You feel like they belong to you, who has dedicated so much of your time to them. You want their attention and you'll do anything to get it--even if you have to hurt them, make them feel your roller coaster of emotions. It's your right as a fan, you're sustaining them. You want to make them notice you, to acknowledge that you've been there for them this entire time.
And no, the endgame isn't becoming their girlfriend. You wouldn't know how to get along in a relationship, still sexually repressed and heavily discouraged by society and everyone from exploring your own sexuality, building your own relationships. You just want things to remain the way they are--that means your idol must be the way they were at debut: young, beautiful, and alone. But they're never alone. Because they have you.
Like I said, I'm reaching, but think of how many sasaeng fans exist for every idol group. I honestly think that most of them probably didn't start out wanting to send blood letter and pubic hair to their idols. I think it was fannish behavior (like you or me) that escalated, that was enabled by everyone from the company to the idols to the fans you associated with. It's not right--there are a lot of issues that delve into societal issues that South Korea (and Asia as a whole) has, but that's probably a whole 'nother post.
And last is, I don't think you can truly stop a problem until you understand the problem from the other person's viewpoint.
Tell me what you think?
I lived in Taipei for a few months when I was a teenager. One day, me and my mom went for a walk to get breakfast and we walked out of our apartment and as we passed by the building next to us, she pointed to the big one down the alleyway and told me:
"You see that building? Jay Chou lives there."
It was a complete shock to me at the time because I lived in Dallas and even the closest celebrity (probably an athlete) was unfathomably far away. I began thinking about the relativity of size and distance and then this happened:
You're a young Korean girl living in South Korea. Probably very quiet, probably sexually inexperienced/ignorant, probably told to focus on school and not to pay attention to boys--as your parents raised you to be. You see an idol on television, most of whom are skinny, and styled and shaped to appeal to someone like you. At first, you're just a normal fan. You buy their music, you gaze from afar, you go on internet message boards to find out more about them because it's your homage to them. And then, at some point, you find out where they live.
Your intent isn't to interfere with their anything, your intent is just to go see. You're curious about your idol, you want to know everything about them, and you already know everything about them from what you see online, so you want just that little something more. You go to their apartment once, maybe twice, maybe it takes three times for you to see them and when you see them in person, you're starstruck. You take pictures, upload them online, and get praised for it. It becomes a drug to you, this praise. You get so little of it in reality--you're an ordinary girl and your parents love you, surely, but Asian parents are scarce with their compliments. All you want is to be appreciated for something. Eventually this praise will become more important to you than anything your parents say--remember this.
For now, let's go back to the happiness: people tell you "oh it's so high quality" "oh you got to see them" "daebak!!" And it wasn't so much trouble the first time so you go back a second time. You have a lot of free time, schoolwork doesn't take you that long to complete at your current level. You take more pictures, post them, repeat the pattern. And then one day, someone approaches you--another girl, similar circumstances, and says "aren't you [your username]? I love your pictures!"
Joy! You've found a kindred spirit, someone who likes these idols just as much as you do. Your schoolmates don't understand, they're fine with liking idols, but going on message boards? That's too much. You don't want to risk social suicide by being known as "the idol fan". You two become friends. Share pictures, share posts online, meet up to take pictures and follow them around. It's a social activity and it's not hurting anyone.
And then, maybe, someone you don't like online comes and start taking pictures of them too. You feel jealousy--as though someone was hitting on your boyfriend--they're getting the same pictures you are, they're getting the same praise. You don't realize that it's just pictures, you don't realize that your way of thinking is actually a little warped, claiming possession over something that's not yours, because you've never told anyone else that you liked your idol group to this extent. There's no one to raise their eyebrow at you, there's no one who'll laugh at you and remind you of how society views your kind of thinking--there's no one but your friend beside you who's equally as mad as the other people stealing you guys's praise as you are.
Your behavior escalates. They're getting pictures of idols coming out of their houses too? We'll get pictures of idols coming out of their studios. Restaurants. Concerts. It's not hard--Seoul is so small and close together, it's only a matter of effort to jump in a taxi cab and ask them to follow a car. And to this point, you're not hurting anyone.
Over time, you develop a network. One person waits here, one person waits there, one person provides money, one person keeps everyone synchronized. The effort isn't hard, you love your idols so much. You become protective of your content, protective of your idols. You have a right to be, you know more about them than anyone else, you have been alongside them longer than any of the sluts that their company just debuted have known them for. You're past the point of praise, now you want exclusivity. No one can see your pictures except who you choose.
Now, you feel entitled. You feel like they belong to you, who has dedicated so much of your time to them. You want their attention and you'll do anything to get it--even if you have to hurt them, make them feel your roller coaster of emotions. It's your right as a fan, you're sustaining them. You want to make them notice you, to acknowledge that you've been there for them this entire time.
And no, the endgame isn't becoming their girlfriend. You wouldn't know how to get along in a relationship, still sexually repressed and heavily discouraged by society and everyone from exploring your own sexuality, building your own relationships. You just want things to remain the way they are--that means your idol must be the way they were at debut: young, beautiful, and alone. But they're never alone. Because they have you.
Like I said, I'm reaching, but think of how many sasaeng fans exist for every idol group. I honestly think that most of them probably didn't start out wanting to send blood letter and pubic hair to their idols. I think it was fannish behavior (like you or me) that escalated, that was enabled by everyone from the company to the idols to the fans you associated with. It's not right--there are a lot of issues that delve into societal issues that South Korea (and Asia as a whole) has, but that's probably a whole 'nother post.
And last is, I don't think you can truly stop a problem until you understand the problem from the other person's viewpoint.
Tell me what you think?