Netizens Raise Concerns For Stray Kids’ Safety After Mob Causes Han To Fall At Incheon Airport
Stray Kids were recently mobbed upon their arrival in Korea, causing netizens to be concerned for the members’ safety once again. The members were arriving back from Japan for their MANIAC tour when a large crowd rushed toward them. As fans and media officials bumped into the group, Han fell before finally being escorted away by his members and security.
Media footage from the incident showed Han being pushed to the ground in the midst of the chaos. He later emerged from the crowd clutching his arm.
Security guards did their best to keep fans away from him, while he was helped by a manager and fellow member Seungmin, who had been walking ahead but turned back around to help when he noticed the commotion.
Han was noticeably in pain as they continued on, still surrounded by fans and paparazzi.
Yet, despite the incident, he still later went on to reassure fans that he was not hurt. Although he was putting up a brave front, STAYs found it heartbreaking and unfair to him. They were left wondering just how many members will have to go through this before their personal space is respected.
jisung going straight to bbl to tell us he didn't get hurt and dont worry…he deserves the world i hope he rests up well and get to relax and see bbama before the us tourT__T♡
— 퀔냥냥 (@smolsungies) June 20, 2022
Jisung on bbl saying he's ok but i think his not 😭😭😭 i feel his pain when he slipped 😭😭 my poor Han Jisung how many members should experience this kind of situations? Is it really hard to give those man some space??? pic.twitter.com/DUo9ZGiDFT
— Shanna Lie (@lie_shanna) June 20, 2022
In fact, STAYs pointed out that it’s important to remember that just because Han claims he is okay this time it doesn’t mean that nothing wrong happened.
still because jisung says he's okay doesn't normalize these situation. plea e learn as soon as possible what PERSONAL SPACE is.
— ًً (@HJS_LOOK) June 20, 2022
This was not the first time such an incident occurred, and it has therefore once again raised questions about security and fans’ conduct at the airport.
Earlier in January, a similar incident happened when Stray Kids were on their way to Saudi Arabia to perform alongside Chungha in Riyadh. As the members entered Incheon Airport, the large crowd of fans and paparazzi were so disorderly that Felix got pushed to the ground.
Fans and idols alike have spoken up against this dangerous crowd behavior in the past, including Stray Kids‘ own leader, Bang Chan. During one of his regular live streams, Bang Chan commented that respecting personal space is important for everyone’s safety, not just his group’s. After all, that same month, fans defended ENHYPEN‘s bodyguards for their use of physical force to keep the members safe at the airport.
If everyone respected [personal] space, none of this would have happened… gotta be careful. People can get hurt. I mean, not just us, but other artists as well. So I hope it gets fixed.
— Bang Chan
And it is not only the mob of fans and paparazzi who is receiving criticism. Netizens are calling out JYP Entertainment for repeatedly failing to protect Stray Kids’ privacy…
jype should stop giving information about Stray kids at the airport, they should do it to protect.
— liny ♡ (@minunivers) June 20, 2022
…as well as that of their other artists, many of whom are routinely mobbed at the airport. Since more than one member of Stray Kids has already fallen due to dangerous crowd behavior, netizens are questioning how far JYP Entertainment will let things go before they choose to let their artists travel safely.
Do better @jypnation, your artists are being mobbed EVERY SINGLE time they are at the airport in South Korea. What kind of tragedy are you waiting to happen before you take strict actions against this "fans"?
— STRAY KIDS LATAM PROJECT 🎪 (@skzlatamproject) June 20, 2022
Of course, STAYs are also encouraging each other to be mindful of the group’s safety…
…even coming up with helpful ideas on how to actively contribute to making things safer for everyone.
How about the Korean fanbase makes a voluntary team of stays to make a ribbon line for stray kids so that way they can walk kinda like this 👀⬇️armys did it for bts to help keep them safe, witch I think was pretty helpful pic.twitter.com/B64MXKmiAC
— 🔩☻ americano chowa chowa chowa ☻🔩 (@hyunjinandme08) June 20, 2022
Hopefully, the personal boundaries of Stray Kids and other artists will be heeded more in the future so that potentially dangerous incidents such as Han’s fall in the middle of the crowd do not continue to happen.
Read further about what Bang Chan has to say on the issue right here.
Watch the media footage of Stray Kids’ arrival at the airport on the link below.
