Exo’s Xiumin, D.O and 8 more idols finishing military service, obsessive sasaeng fans, and why so many Korean celebrities are shunning social media - this week in K-pop
After 18 months in the Korean army, it’s time for BTOB’s Minhyuk, 2pm’s Junho, Shinee’s Key and Minho and these other idols to get back to the recording studio – and the limelight – but for other K-pop stars, social media and stalking sasaeng fans became too much
It’s been a busy week in world of K-pop, with plenty of the action unfolding online. From fan sites to social media pages, where would we be without our update fixes? Here are this week’s top STYLE stories from the world of K-pop.
When ‘fans’ go too far
Behind many beautiful, wallpaper-worthy photos of Korea’s pop and screen idols are dedicated fansites. The fans that run these pages track their favourite star’s every move and are on hand to get pics of them arriving at and leaving concert venues, airports and award nights.
Here are some past incidents when fansites became sasaeng:
Why are so many South Korean celebrities not on social media?
That’s exactly what we’re asking this week.
Earlier this month, South Korean star Lee Hyori deleted her Instagram account after being criticised by Chinese fans when she allegedly made light of the name “Mao” on a Korean TV programme, Hangout with Yoo.
But she’s far from the first famous Korean personality to shun social media – as this surprising list of K-pop and K-drama idols who avoid personal accounts, and leave their feeds to fans or management, proves.