Diehard Fans Use Extreme Methods to Be Closer to Stars

When it comes to fans, it’s natural for them to crave a glance of their favorite stars up-close. These fans love to take photos and receive autographs. In order to do so, the fans these days have come up with a very clever method that surpasses James Bond. But one method that was presented in MBC’s News Desk on February 12^th seems to be extreme and out of control.

On January 23^rd the filming of MBC’s “Idol Star Athletics & Swimming Championships,” in which over 140 idol stars participated, took place in Seoul Jamsil Stadium. There was a separate seating section for the press where the reporters could take photos and film stars closely. While there are several dozens of people sitting in the press zone, a considerable number of them are in fact fake reporters.

They managed to pass themselves off as real reporters to the event coordinators and sneak into the set by handing in fake name cards and even fake press passes. They thoroughly fake their identities and get away as actual reporters because they have professional cameras that cost well over several thousand dollars.

Hallyu fans from other countries use similar methods as well. At the Drama press conference for MBC’s drama “Mate” on January 31^st, two Japanese fans slipped over to sit in the press section seats in order to get a closer glance of their favorite star. “I’m here to see Chun Jung Myung,” the fans stated. When asked by the news reporter how one fan felt seeing him in person, that fan replied, “My heart is fluttering.”

“When there are foreign people, it’s sometimes hard to figure out what media they are associated with. In some cases, they would just hand in a different person’s name card from different media. Then they would sneak in without anyone noticing,” a staff member of a drama production company claimed.

Nowadays, it’s common to see fans that just run up to their star to hug them at fan signing events. “Since there are not many opportunities to see me up-close, fans usually tend to make a lot of physical contact. They would hug me suddenly or sometimes pat me,” SS501’s Park Jung Min stated.

Although I can see how fans would do whatever it takes to get a close glimpse of their favorite fans, there are certain boundaries and etiquette that should be kept. What do you think? I’m pretty sure that Soompiers aren’t like this at all. But then again, I wouldn’t mind a chance to get to have some exclusive time with stars that I like! 😉