Gotta love this — fans of the groups Big Bang and Wondergirls recently joined forces to reserve up to 1700 tickets for the upcoming concert by Dong-bang-shin-ki (DBSK), only to relinquish the tickets at the last minute, rendering the seats useless and costing promoters about 10 million won ($7,225 USD).
I have some insights into how Korean pop fans operate, though thankfully not too many that are first hand. They’re obsessive to put it mildly, and like a number of things in Korean culture, they don’t shy away from taking things to an emotional extreme. Think I’m exaggerating to make for a better post? Well, check out the DBSK Wikipedia page, which details an incident from 2006 in which a DBSK anti-fan tried to murder member Jung Yunho (aka U-Know) by handing him a beverage mixed with super glue.
From Wikipedia:
While the group was filming a variety show in October 2006, U-Know was rushed to the hospital from drinking a beverage given by an anti-fan. U-Know drank from the bottle, believing it was given by a crew member. Because the drink was spiked with super glue, he was quickly instructed by his manager to vomit immediately after drinking it. The Anti turned herself in the next day. The female suspect, whose surname is Ko, apprehended on October 16, was a member of an anti-TVXQ (DBSK) website for over two years. In a letter to TVXQ (DBSK), she states:One can only hope that this fan war doesn’t break out into something serious. Or, on the other hand, one can very much hope things break out into something quite serious. The Big Bang fans (called VIPs) and the Wondergirls fans (called Wonderfuls) have already issued a public apology. However, the DBSK fans (called Cassiopeias) have issued their own public declaration against the VIPs and Wonderfuls. Both statements can be read at PopSeoul, where the post reporting on the fan war has already netted some 320 comments.
“You watch your mouth! Ever since the debut you people (members of TVXQ) were so stuck up. (middle fingers) You people won’t last after a couple years… You would be forever seen as some teen idols not real singers. Do you know your limit? Only little kids like you!…I really want to kill you.”
The incident still left behind unanswered questions, such as why U-know drank from the open container, and how the culprit managed to enter the building of the broadcasting station. U-Know called the police personally to request them not to press charges because “he has a little sister who is almost the woman’s age.” Because of his request, she was not charged.
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