Just kidding.
The relationship between fans and idols is a very interesting one. Fans can take their love for an artist to the extreme and do some of the strangest things (Period letter, anyone?). But at the same time, the KPOP machine has mastered the art of mind control and thus, in a way, encourages such extreme behavior (Think about how many pieces of merchandise that period letter girl has).
Recently, Super Junior‘s Kim Hee-Chul, was hit by a placard at the Super Show 3 concert in Shanghai. In the midst of performing, Heechul was hit by the placard, paused, covered his face, and walked off stage. It was rumored that he suffered a cut to the eye but Sangchu of Mighty Mouth tweeted that Heechul was okay. Along with this tweet, Sangchu mentioned that Heechul was upset and encouraged fans not to throw things on stage.
I know being in the presence of your favorite idol makes you feel like you could explode into a storm of ponies and lollipops but remaining calm and employing a sense of rational thought may actually allow you to enjoy the experience more fully. But at the same time, I can’t help but think that fans get the short end of the stick in this debacle. Should she have done it? Probably not. But she was excited and hey, it was a placard; I wonder how many deaths have occurred due to placard collisions. And in a lot of ways, the KPOP industry kind of asks for this kind of thing to go down. I once had a friend in the Singaporean military tell me that he was interested in studying the sociology and psychology behind KPOP because of the brainwashing that the industry has mastered. These companies–and yes, even idols–convince fans that you are everything to them, that they exist only for you, and that one day, you two will meet you, fall madly in love, and ride off into a glorious sunset. While this leads to awesome sales and fantastic fame, it also leads to some bat shit crazy behavior.
Girl-who-threw-this-placard, get better aim. Chances are, this wouldn’t be news if you had not managed to hit him, which I do not think was your intention in the first place. Fans-who-think-this-girl-is-the-devil, calm down. Chances are, you’re not that different. Heechul, it’s nice to know that you’re okay but you have to know that this is the nature of the business. KPOP industry, try a different marketing strategy; it’s healthier for both parties. Everyone else, hope you guys had a nice weekend!
