3 Times That K-Pop Idols Dealt With Terrifying Situations At The Airport
Most of the time, seeing your favorite K-Pop artist at the airport is an exciting event, where fans respectfully keep their distance and let idols through without issue. There have been some instances, however, that this hasn’t been the case, where K-Pop idols end up mobbed or knocked over or hurt by the very fans that are supposed to love and support them. Here are 3 such instances where things got out of hand at an airport and left an artist shaken up.
1. Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation)
In August of 2017, Taeyeon arrived at the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia for promotional activities. Not expecting a large and chaotic crowd, the Girls’ Generation member had brought only a single manager with her, but things soon became frightening as the fans that had come to greet her grew unruly.
Not only did the fans crowd her to an uncomfortable degree, and eventually caused her to fall to the ground crying and shaking at one point, but she also stated that she felt fans touching her in inappropriate ways (though she also said that she thought it had been unintentional).
Eventually a security guard was able to pick Taeyeon up and carry her safely out of the crowd, but the entire situation clearly shook the idol up, and it was a shock to the already upset girl. She later ended up posting a lengthy statement on Instagram about the situation, which upset some fans further as she seemed apologetic about the situation that she was the victim in.
I am very upset because I think some of the people who were waiting for me also fell and were injured.
Also, it wouldn’t have been intentional, but there was recurring contact with parts of my body, my behind and my chest, as well as colliding and pulling… I was taken aback by that and couldn’t get ahold of myself.
That is why I couldn’t appear my best when I arrived in Jakarta for the first time in a while. I’m so sorry to the fans who waited, and please, I hope order will be kept so that we do not get hurt.
— Taeyeon
2. NCT 127
In May of 2019 when NCT 127 was traveling to Mexico for their Neo City — The Origin tour, what should have been a fun and exciting experience for Mexican fans and the members themselves soon turned terrifying at the airport. While fans kept a respectful distance from the members at first, as more members of the group appeared, the fans kept closing the distance until NCT 127 was caught up in an unruly mob.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, there were reports that Taeyong and Jungwoo were hit and shoved by the “fans”, and one person even touched Yuta‘s head in an attempt to take his hat. It was said that a fan even clung onto Mark as he tried to pass through the chaotic crowd.
Additionally, a security employee that was supposed to be helping keep the members safe was spotted recording the group with her phone rather than doing her work. Some fans tried to do what they could to keep the members safe, but there just wasn’t enough security for the number of people and how aggressive they were.
so you’re telling me that this lady was filming nct while they were being mobbed when she should have been helping them get to their car safely? a firing we are doing today mane pic.twitter.com/YBCBd9gGwd
— 🌶 (@seuljh) May 21, 2019
Fortunately everyone seemed to come out unscathed, at least physically, though it no doubt shook the members up and made what should have been an enjoyable arrival much too stressful.
3. ENHYPEN
And finally, rookie group ENHYPEN got a taste of over-enthusiastic fans even before they officially debuted. They became popular due to their participation on Mnet‘s I-LAND, and so when the group passed through Seoul’s Gimpo Airport in September of last year on a trip to Jeju Island, they ended up getting mobbed by an unexpectedly large crowd.
Still very new to the K-Pop scene, the incident was particularly upsetting to the young trainees, as it was frightening enough to have caused any idol anxiety. Youngest member Ni-ki even got separated from the group at one point, and Jake was later seen crying as they left the chaotic scene after collapsing and being swarmed which kept him from reaching the group’s vehicle.
Their manager did his best to keep the members safe, though all of the members still seemed to get shaken up by the ordeal. Within an hour of the news hitting social media, fans had #ProtectENHYPEN trending on social media, urging BE:LIFT, ENHYPEN’s label, to do more to protect their soon-to-be idols.
Fortunately, the company listened, and prohibited fans from visiting private spaces and unannounced schedules, and so far, things seem to be going much better for them.
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