10 Real-Life Stories From Fans Who Unexpectedly Ran Into Idols In Public
On Reddit, K-Pop fans exchanged true stories about how they crossed paths with idols when they were least expecting it. Here are 10 of their once in a lifetime encounters!
1. “I ran into V of BTS at the Lincoln Park Zoo”
These days, it’s nearly impossible to casually run into BTS, so ARMYs may be extra envious of this lucky fan’s chance encounter with V. She spotted him at Lincoln Park Zoo, when BTS was in Chicago for their LOVE YOURSELF world tour.
My friends and I ran into [V] of BTS at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in October. He was with a manager and a security guard. I had went ahead of my friends outside while they were still in the indoor gorilla exhibit.
He had walked past me when I was sitting on the bench getting something out of my bag and I totally missed him until my friend ran up to me quietly squealing. We eventually ran into him again as we were viewing other exhibits. We didn’t approach him at all and let him be. Just squealed to ourselves. He’s more beautiful in person.
— Huong919
2. The mysterious mall stranger
Ieechan spotted a member of DAY6 at a mall in Toronto a few days before she planned to attend the group’s concert. She and her friend were walking out of a store when they noticed a familiar-looking man in a hoodie. They soon realized it was Jae!
Out of shock, I called out his name and he turned around and said “Hey” (or at least from what my friend recalls, I was too shook). He seemed like he was in a rush to get somewhere? So we didn’t ask for a picture or anything…But honestly, meeting him today made me realize that I’m finally getting to meet all of DAY6 again in 2 days!
— Ieechan
3. Right place, right time
Meeting an idol in person is a rarity, especially for international fans, but this lucky fan managed to run into NU’EST not once, not twice, but multiple times.
During KCON 2012 I kept on running into NU’EST. I was staying at the same hotel. At one point, I walked into an elevator just as Baekho and Minhyun exited to go get breakfast. I was so surprised that I waved and told them good morning.
— kiku8
4. Bias at the bookstore
iGOT7s may find themselves cursing the unfairness of life after reading about this GOT7 sighting. Redditor professorgenkii isn’t a GOT7 stan, but that didn’t stop her path from crossing with Jinyoung!
I saw Jinyoung from GOT7 in a bookstore in Gangnam like a year ago and I’m not a huge GOT7 stan by any means but it was still both a memorable and stressful experience.
— professorgenkii
5. Close encounter at a cafe
This fan literally bumped into Kevin from U-KISS and his friend while at a cafe in Itaewon. She was excited to see Kevin, but wasn’t a big fan of his friend.
My table was the only one empty. I accidentally bumped into him as I was sliding into the booth side and was like, “Oh? that looks like Kevin Woo”, but couldn’t do anything else but smile because I wasn’t sure and I’m really shy/awkward. And then, when he started talking to his friend, I was like “Yep, that’s definitely him”.
I tried my hardest not to listen to his conversation, but the friend he was with was so loud and annoying and was talking in a way that made it seem like he wanted people to hear what he was saying.
— warofhormoan
6. “Too drunk for a picture”
If you happen to visit Korea, you might want to go to Itaewon because that’s where the stars seem to hang out. Like warofhormoan, user suzyslammer met a celeb there. She had an amusing encounter with J.Y. Park at a club, back in 2015.
I asked him for a picture but he said he was too drunk for a picture. Apparently, Taeyang’s wife (fiancé at the time) was there too. Felt pretty awesome meeting the Asiansoul himself. Definitely something I’ll always remember.
— suzyslammer
7. The nervous waiter
Uesugi_Kenshin was eating at a well-known Japanese ramen restaurant in Berlin when, suddenly, BTS’s V walked in with some of BTS’s staff members. She wasn’t the only one in the restaurant who noticed him either.
He was wearing a black beanie, brown jacket and that’s all I could remember, my mind went blank pretty much. The restaurant was noisy as f**k but it instantly fell silent the moment everyone recognized [V]. One waiter got so nervous he dropped the glass of Fanta we ordered onto my friend and told us “V from BTS is here!!”, we just went: “We know!!!
— Uesugi_Kenshin
8. Strong Heart moment
When this ELF was in New York City for SMTOWN, in 2011, she met Henry and Eunhyuk while walking around on her last day in the city. She took a picture with Henry before experiencing a moment straight out of Strong Heart.
Side note, Eunhyuk came in and talked to Henry for a bit before bolting to the hotel at the sight of me. Henry was screaming after him about what he’d just told him when he then recalled that Eunhyuk had said ‘hamburger’ in Korean. I felt like I just lived through his Strong Heart story from earlier that year.
— tehmichi
9. Height difference
When grrrlwednesday saw Jay Park while interning at a radio station, she couldn’t help but notice their height differences.
I was an intern at a radio station back in 2009 (?) Jay Park was just starting out as a soloist and he paid a visit to the station. I remember seeing him, looking at his shoes, and thinking “I’M TALLER THAN HIM.
— grrrlwednesday
10. MOMOLAND at Universal Studios
Taking a trip to Universal Studios is already awesome, but just imagine the added bonus of seeing your favorite idols there too. That’s exactly what happened to this fan!
Ran into Momoland at Universal Studio while they were filming for Buzzfeed and here for KCON!
— aeroblader1
