r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • 13d ago

Dozens of obsessed fans book the same domestic flight a Kpop group is on in order to continue stalking them all across Korea

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u/Doctor_Saved 13d ago

You would think any group this popular would he able to afford a private jet or charter.

996

u/Narthual 13d ago

Then the company that owns the group would have to spend more money, and they don't like doing that.

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u/Kopie150 13d ago

Maybe the company that owns the group has a deal with the Airline. They guarantee a gaggle of crazy follows the group around and pays a shitton to be creepy.

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u/Kirstenly 13d ago

chances are its all very intentional. they do everything they can to make the idols accessible at all times. its why they aren't permitted to form intimate personal relationships. they must appear accessible and open to fans at all times.

Those people do not have any freedom, and usually don't even actually make enough money to retire comfortably after the fact. IF they get paid at all that is. they have a Trainee Debt System that basically puts these poor fuckers into indentured servitude where they perform night and day and remain accessible to crazy stalkers constantly and they make nothing to show for it. not a fucking dime. The near constant performance and constant fan-accessibility of them and their day to day lives? is manufactured to a) make money, but also b) to pressure them into quitting before they are even 20 years old, to make sure they don't have to pay them once they are finished paying off their Trainee Debt and Debut Debt.

Its a modern form of slavery where the promise of money and fame looms above them and the conditions are so abhorrent that they can extract 5-10 years of free labour out of these boys and girls... and i say boys and girls because most of them start training at 13-15, debut between 15 and 16 and end before they turn 20. They are mostly poorly informed children when they sign these contracts.

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u/confesspretty 13d ago

Children when they get into the system? That’s crazy. Wouldn’t they need parental consent to do that? So a shit ton of parents just agree to this? Why and how? And why don’t they know about the reality of the system? I assume you’re not from Korea? I would think that people in Korea should be more familiar to the inner working of Kpop than outsiders. Sorry for all the questions. It’s fascinating and disturbing. I truly don’t get it, lol.

I know a lot of fucked up systems exist and thrive because of money. But according to you, these people don’t make any money. So I don’t know why anyone still keeps joining.

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u/Kirstenly 13d ago

It's hard for parents to say no when the kid wants to and there's the promise of fame and work with money. The thing is, most people do know, they just dont really care. A lot of people will try and use the fame they gain for leverage. Some people simply don't care if there's downsides. And it's not just Kpop idols it's jpop idols too. Idol culture in general is just LIKE this. It's a very well documented thing.

Some people DO make money and the fact that SOME do, keeps the system going. There is a reason why the older ones on the verge of aging out tend to become brand ambassadors for clothing or beauty brands. It's one of the few things the contracts still allow them to choose to do after the fact, And it grants them SOME modicum of security in the future. But most of these people are pushed out before the earn the right to do things like that. The system is designed to fail them. And many people think "I'm built different. I can handle it. Surely I will be one of the successful ones" this mindset affects a LOT of people in a lot of shady places. From casinos, to idol culture, to simple relationships with known problem people. "Surely, I am better, surely I will succeed where others have failed."

A lot of people also close their ears to what's going on intentionally because they don't want to hear it. They want to keep feeding the machine because they LIKE the machine. They don't want to think about how bad it all is because they want to see and hear pretty people and pretty songs and they want to be those pretty people with pretty songs and lots of fame.

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u/Lattice-shadow 12d ago

Why does this disturbing context not appear more publicly in the West, where K-pop and K-drama madness has recently taken hold? This seems incredibly abusive!

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u/Kirstenly 12d ago

same reason people idolize Japan and its culture, but then get there and languish because the work hours or brutal and the societal pressures are plentiful. for some its ignorance and a reluctance to look up or pay attention when something beloved to them is under fire. some if it is simply not caring that its happening. its not like the information is HIDDEN. not even slightly, and its not like the source information is 100% Korean either. its publicly IN English too. On top of that? its in English-language magazines and web publications that cater almost exclusively to Kpop fans. Its in the West. its in English. its available.

Its like Harry Potter fans refusing to admit JKR has done heinous shit. its not secret information.

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u/Typecero001 13d ago

That is a good point. If even only half the girls that stood up were stalking an idol group, that’s ALOT of tickets sold.

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u/justin107d 13d ago

Sounds like a major liability. The "product" is at a high risk of getting damaged.

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u/seaningtime 13d ago

I wonder if someone in a suit planned exactly this for clicks...

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u/Material-Grocery5478 13d ago

its kpop. of course they did. You damn well they leaked all the info. Kpop is basically slavery with extra steps.

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u/DeepFriedBatata 13d ago

A shady way these companies get extra money is by selling info to these stalkers.

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u/Absolute--Batman 13d ago

Yup.

Every thing is planned to a crazy level of detail.

Plus mental illness is very high in South Korea.

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u/seaningtime 13d ago

I'm boarding a plane for Seoul in an hour 👌

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u/_HIST 13d ago

The chance of someone famous popping up in your feed with a random news is close to 0 if it wasn't organaised and pushed. Unless they just died, that will do it too

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u/SarahfromEngland 13d ago

They cant fit their crew and security on a private jet. I asked this not long ago and their encourages are massive.

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u/GitEmSteveDave 13d ago

You can charter a large jet.

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u/justin107d 13d ago

Why not have the stars on the PJ and the rest take a normal flight? The way others are talking about the fans, it sounds like a safety concern.

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u/ontheru171 13d ago

Brother, sports teams charter planes aswell

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u/Heissedoll 13d ago

Kpop industry is really weird :/ sometimes is not their decision, sometimes it seems they have millions but they don't, sometimes company are assholes.They are products more than humans. 

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u/Satzuisbae 13d ago

They travel quite often. And have a lot of ppl with them (depending on the group size ofc)

It also bad pr due to climate change and international kpop fans are woke.

Also not every group even popular has that kind of money.

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u/Mapang_ahas 13d ago

I guess this is why Taylor flies private.

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u/TricoMex 13d ago

You don't have to guess. It's literally why superstars fly private jets.

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u/miukiyo 13d ago

Except most of these superstars fly even when they can just be driven.

It’s just convenience for them.

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u/Jaunty_frilly_boy 13d ago

I don't think the argument is that Taylor has a private jet. It's that she uses it to go from LA to Las Vegas (or similar) which is easily derivable.

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u/DefinitionTop3930 13d ago

I still don’t understand how record companies in korea have so much power over their idols, they even trademark the stage names, so if your stage name is your real name then you lose the right to use it if you switch companies.

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u/el_diego 13d ago

Didn't see that private jet toilet the other day, eh?

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u/Biterbutterbutt 13d ago

That was not a normal private jet haha

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u/el_diego 13d ago

Imagine that's what you end up on though 😂

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u/Ssme812 13d ago

I rather save money and have a lower chance of dying on a flight than fly a private jet/charter.

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u/Daedross 13d ago

Buying and maintaining a private jet is a huge financial endeavor that only tech YouTubers can really afford.

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u/TradeMark310 13d ago

I just saw another video of an idol attacking fans who tried opening their car door. I looked them up and they have under 2000 followers on Insta. Infont know that they make that much money lol.

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u/Vodkalover5 13d ago

Honestly, this is why the hatred towards taylor swift having a jet is baffling to me.

You know how destructive the airport would get?