[User Post]
K-Pop fans are known for their passionate dedication to their favorite idols, but sometimes some of these people show why “fans” is short for “fanatic” and take things too far. From comparing who’s the most impactful boy or girl group, to which idol has the best set of skills, these fan wars can range from taking place in the virtual bubble of Twitter, hiding behind anonymous profiles to deeply affect a person’s life over what they expressed online. Sounds rather extreme over K-Pop, but to some, their level of celebrity obsession knows no limits, and boundaries bordering on criminaloffensee can be crossed if someone so much indicates that they “prefer one idol over another.” Recently, a fan account for BTS member Jungkook was hacked, doxxed, and bullied off social media, highlighting the dangerous side of these fans.
On April 5th, 2023, the Twitter account, Jk0nair, a fan account for BTS’ member Jungkook, was seen engaging in regular activity on their account, when a sudden shift in their behaviour around 6 PM ET indicated something was off about their page and their account may have been compromised. Although, before the peculiar postings on their accounts, they made many cryptic posts indicating mean comments being told to them through direct messages for not sharing with another fan account within the fandom their tips and tricks in supporting their BTS bias.
The supposed admin of Jk0nair wrote, “The same ‘OT7 FB’ [all-member-loving BTS fanbase] were asking for radio tips & guides for ‘OT7 radio support’ and guilt tripping us for focusing on L&R [Left and Right, a song by Charlie Puth and Jungkook]. Now lying on JK [Jungkook’s] radio success. Remind you, Jung Kook the only member [sic] entering Top 50, 40 x 2 times and only one to enter Top 30,20,10 Top 40 Mediabase Chart! How come you’ll forgetting [sic] boycotted surprised Sunday release – Korean soloist solo song #Dreamers entering both Top 50 and Top 40 of Mediabase Chart?”
The supposed original user of Jk0nair then boldly finished off their note with, “We claim 0.0005 success – rest is due to #Jungkook’s amazing vocals and charm to captivate gp [sic].”
Not even an hour later, the tone of the account switches to a cruel, spiteful tone, with multiple bizarre posts ranging from the announcement that the person running the page is a certified “anti” and a hater of other members of BTS to odd image uploads:
Given the familiar, bubbly personality of the admin running the account, who never shied away from posting things related to other members despite being a Jungkook-focused account, who constantly did giveaways and fan-focused parties, it did not take long for followers of the account to notice the account was compromised by someone sinister. Minutes after the creepy postings were made, the hacker made the account private and then deactivated the page to avoid reports.
The real administrator of the page would then make a posting about two hours after the incident on their Instagram story, writing:
“I can’t access my Twitter account. I’m not aware of anything happening on the timeline. Ig [Instagram] and TikTok is [sic] the only SM I have access [to] now.”
They then followed up with another story that ultimately is disturbing, cryptically informing their followers of the following:
“Doxing me, calling/mass emailing my work. Getting me fired [with] over 5,000 concern “emails’ over me supporting JK [Jungkook]. I hope you get life Karma [sic]. Because I’m out of words. I wish everyone the best. Thank you, Ila.”
To do harm to a person in real life over who they like in a group and choose to post about, to the point of going as far as to dox, get them fired at their workplace, and hack into their social media, is despicable and a form of cybercrime. K-Pop, particularly being a fan of a member in the boy group BTS, the biggest boyband on the planet, should be an enjoyable experience. Not distressing to the point a person is discouraged enough to remove themselves from a fandom, and quite frankly, delete the remaining social media they still have control over.
As Teen Vogue worded it in their publication “On Parasocial Relationships and The Boundraries of a Celebrity”: “Parasocial relationships can be positive…but when the parasocial relationship inspires aggressive action towards the source of your interest or towards other fans, then it’s time to pull back and redirect your energy” (Stitch). Better yet, reflection is required to work on becoming a better version of yourselves. Never partake in such obscenities or stand by and allow these types of malicious attacks to happen to you or anybody you know.
What is the point of harassing, intimidating, or embarrassing someone? Those who create fake accounts to post hurtful comments or messages are engaging in cowardly and harmful behavior. Cyberbullying is a real issue and should never be taken lightly.
