Second Generation Idol Kim Jaejoong Reveals The Worst Cases Of Sasaeng Stalking He Experienced For 12 Years
In the latest episode of “Late Night Studio” show on NAVER NOW, second generation K-Pop idol Kim Jaejoong shocked the listeners by revealing the most horrific sasaeng stalking he endured for 12 years.
He recalled, back when he was actively promoting as part of TVXQ and JYJ, he had his fair share of “sasaeng” fans or obsessive fans who stalk and/or engage in other invasive behaviors. While many popular idol groups and members fall victim to this sasaeng activity, he commented his experience may have been one of the more severe.
For starters, Jaejoong claimed, “breaking and entering had been so frequent” that he had to constantly change his door locks.
I would receive these photo messages. They would be pictures of my living room, bedroom, and kitchen spaces. But what’s worse is that I would be photographed in those pictures! Get it? These overly… obsessive and passionate ‘fans’ would enter my house, tiptoe around to take pictures of me, and leave. Then they would send the pictures to me. Who knows how they figured out my phone number? It used to give me chills. So I always had to change the key and door lock and everything.
— Kim Jaejoong
The stalking didn’t stop when he moved to a different residence. At one point, Jaejoong began living alone in an apartment building — with a nice terrace space which he looked forward to using. His sasaengs, however, went above and beyond imagination to crush his hopes.
I moved into this one apartment building. They moved into another one right across the street. I’m serious! They got a unit that is directly across and on the same floor level as mine! And from there, they would stare at me all day. I don’t know if they leased the place or what, but yeah. They kept watching and watching. And I had originally picked that unit because of the nice terrace. I ended up not being able to use it once because anytime I would be in the terrace, I would be stared down.
— Kim Jaejoong
It was at this apartment unit that Jaejoong experienced one of the most terrifying stalker behavior. He even had to get the police involved — though the officers dispatched to the scene did not help much. Jaejoong said, after having gone through such a chilling encounter, he was set on moving again.
It was really late at night. I had all the lights off so I could sleep. Then, all of a sudden, I hear my doorbell. Ding-dong. And I wondered who it could be, because it was so late. I checked the door cam to see who’s there. But no one was there. I went back to my room, only to hear the bell again. I checked the cam to see no one there. This repeated a couple times. So eventually I decided to open the door.
It was weird because I could only open my door partially. That’s when I saw someone’s leg. I got so frightened that I slammed the door. When I opened it again, no one was there. I looked around the area, including down the emergency staircase. I heard people running down. So I sprinted and chased them down. When I caught them, I recognized them as some of my most notorious stalkers. I decided this went way over the line so I called the police to report them.
But… the police at the time told me they’re my fans and so I should forgive them. He told me I’m ‘petty for calling the cops on them when they’re just curious fans.’ Yeah.
— Kim Jaejoong
The stalking stressed him out so much that, once after having watched the Korean thriller Hide And Seek, the plot hit too close to home for him and he ended up suffering sleep paralysis that night.
A couple of days after getting the police involved, I had the same thing happen again. So I figured it’s the same sasaengs who have returned. But this time, they began getting aggressive with my door knob. They started rattling it as if trying to enter. I was horrified. That’s right around when the movie Hide And Seek came out. I watched that, and for the first time since I debuted, I was paralyzed in my sleep.
— Kim Jaejoong
Jaejoong also revealed a heartbreaking reason behind why he began collecting cars. While at first it may have seemed to be an expensive hobby of his, he clarified that it was actually to keep him sane from the stalking. All in all, he not only became paranoid, but also adamant on moving every two years.
This might sound like I’m paranoid but I used to have a lot of vehicles too and that was because of all the stalking. Every time I got a car, the sasaengs would find out and follow. So I tried to switch it up to confuse them. It never really worked. So I started moving every two years. New cars and new homes didn’t help cut out the stalking though.
— Kim Jaejoong
Unfortunately, even after strategically moving in and out of places, Jaejoong continued to feel unsafe in his own home. In fact, one day — as he recalled, he legitimately felt like his life is being threatened when a food delivery person showed up at his door and acted extremely suspicious.
Once, I ordered food at home. The delivery person showed up, but with a baseball cap pushed down so far down the face I could barely see the eyes. When I tried to pay though, the person glared at me underneath the cap. Then this person asked, ‘Do you recognize me?’ And so I asked if I should and the person kept asking like, ‘Are you sure you don’t know who I am?’ So I said I didn’t know and the person went, ‘Oh. Is that so?’ Then the delivery person got on the elevator… and as I yelled, ‘What’s your problem?’ the person smirked at me. Isn’t that the creepiest thing?!
So I felt threatened. This person knows where I live now! Right? I called the restaurant and explained what happened. I asked to get some information about the delivery person who just dropped off the food for me. Guess what the restaurant told me? They said the person had just quit and left. So the delivery to my house was the last one. Oh my goodness, I was so scared. What if the person comes back to my place?! I honestly thought to myself, ‘This kind of stuff only happens in movies.’
— Kim Jaejoong
Eventually though, after 12 long years, the stalking subsided. Jaejoong claimed that he has “finally found freedom” after settling down in his current neighborhood.
It took 12 years, but it did end. I no longer have to move. I also sold all my cars. I’m finally free and I’m really glad that it’s all over. I can walk around my neighborhood and everything. So happy.
— Kim Jaejoong
After the episode aired, utterly-disgusted K-Pop fans sent words of support and encouragement to the idol for surviving the darkest of times.
- “Fans know this isn’t half of what happened to him though. It’s a miracle that he didn’t develop any psychological problems. All of TVXQ, to be exact…”
- “I hope everyone who harassed him back then is paying for the wrongdoings.”
- “The fact that he can now talk about this while laughing… Wow. I’m super proud of him for having endured and survived it all.”
- “He is amazing to have persisted through the hard times. I hope he can continue to be happy and at peace where he is for the rest of his life.”
- “Yeah… Stalking wasn’t even considered a crime back then, so it was worse.”
- “If I recall, TVXQ did have some unbelievably criminal sasaengs. I vaguely remember him talking about this on a TV show before too…”
While the decade of nightmare has ended for him, sasaeng behavior still remains rampant in the industry. K-Pop fans continue to spread awareness and remind such obsessive stalkers that what they are doing is completely unreasonable and, more importantly, absolutely illegal.
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