By: Janie Shin
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| (Source: Allkpop) |
No matter where you go in the music industry there
are always fans that support the idols but there are also some that do not,
called, the anti-fans. Anti-fans are fans that do not like the idols and tend
to constantly attack them with rumors, lies, and even threats of harm. The
anti-fans on the nternet are called, netizens. Netizens like to attack behind
the computers and attack the idols with rumors and lies in the world of the
internet. They feel empowered because on the internet, they are unknown and
they feel like they can get away with anything. An example of this cruel act is
seen in the life of a singer/rapper named Tablo from the K-pop group, Epik
High. Netizens attacked Tablo on his education background because he graduated
from the prestigious college, Stanford. They refused to believe he graduated
from there and constantly attacked Tablo with threats and harassed him saying
he was a liar. When Tablo was asked about his situation he said, “I thought
my life was over. They called me a con man, a swindler, a fraud, and said they
wouldn’t believe me because I was like that. I wondered if my family was like
this because I was in this business. I had to accept reality, but I was scared."
There are many more situations like this where netizens tend to go a little too
far. And because of the netizens, Tablo eventually had to get involved in a
heated battle against them with lawyers and won the case. But the harm had
already been done and Tablo and his family already suffered too many wounds
from those netizens. In the end when Tablo won his case, the netizens that
accused Tablo apologized and announced they would finally stop harassing Tablo
and his family.
Within the world of anti-fans in the K-pop world,
there are also extreme fans called, sasaeng fans. Many anti-fans go over
the limits of idols but sasaeng fans are a whole different realm. They do not necessarily hate the idols but claim to love them and are almost as bad or even worse then anti-fans. The word
sasaeng is derived from the Korean word meaning “private life”. And so, sasaeng
fans invade personal space and try to break into the personal lives of idols
without stop. The video on the right shows a popular Korean idol being slapped by one of his sasaeng fans. There are many extremities involved in the daily life of a
sasaeng fan. They like to chase after their idols in taxis that they have
bought for the day and costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Stalking
their idols is not enough for these fans, there are even incidents when “One
sasaeng even offered $100,000 USD if the company could steal her idol’s
underwear.” So with the rising fame of K-pop comes with the rise of anti-fans
all over the world. Some have attempted to guess in why there are so many
anti-fans in K-pop but the main reason is still unknown. Fans are one of the
main reasons why K-pop idols survive in this industry but the anti-fans need to
understand their boundaries and stop bullying and harassing others. All in all, K-pop would be a better and safe world without
anti-fans.
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| (Source: Allkpop) |
Jenny , Will. "Epik High’s Tablo talks about how he felt during his controversy." 30 2012: 1. Print. http://www.allkpop.com/2012/10/epik-highs-tablo-talks-about-how-he-felt-during-his-controversy.
Vital, Sign. "Reporters uncover the dark truth behind the daily activities of sasaeng fans." 15 2012: 1. Print. <http://www.allkpop.com/2012/03/reporters-uncover-the-dark-truth-behind-the-daily-activities-of-sasaeng-fans>.
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