On August 18, 2017, Taeyeon of Girls' Generation posted on Instagram about a situation she experienced at an airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. She explained that she was in a dangerous situation because the airport was overly crowded. While security and staff rushed her out, she was groped numerous times and even fell to the floor. Girls' Generation fans hoping to see her eventually uploaded pictures and videos from their point of view. In some of them, Taeyeon is shown trembling and crying.
Many K-pop fans expressed outrage towards how certain Indonesian K-pop fans treated Taeyeon.
Ergo, they were pleased security was noticeably increased when Irene of Red Velvet flew to Jakarta recently.
Irene arrives on the scene surrounded by bodyguards
On Monday, September 4, 2017, Bae Joo Hyun, better known as Irene of Red Velvet, arrived at Incheon International Airport. She was on her way to Jakarta, Indonesia for a recording of "Music Bank in Jakarta." K-pop fans who were at the airport took notice of the security detail Irene had. She was surrounded by six to eight built bodyguards who ensured her safety.
The K-pop community assumes SM Entertainment strengthened security for their artists after Taeyeon's incident. Many in the community have expressed their approval too.
Eventually, Irene made it to Jakarta for the "Music Bank in Jakarta" recording as special MC alongside Korean actor Park Bo Gum ("Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" and "Reply 1988").
Thankfully there were no problems for Irene in Jakarta.
Some international K-pop fans have always been problematic for idols
It is good to see SM Entertainment is taking the necessary steps to protect their artists whenever they travel abroad. However, the fact it took this long for any Korean entertainment agency/label to take action is surprising.
Ever since the beginning of the K-pop era, there have been fans known as "sasaeng." These fans are overly obsessive often putting K-pop idols in danger by invading their privacy.
SM Entertainment's artists suffered the most from sasaeng fans. Kai of EXO injured his ankle when he was shoved violently by a fan at an airport. Tao, also of EXO had his privacy invaded when a sasaeng installed a hidden camera in the bathroom of the hotel he was staying in.
Even prior to the Jakarta airport incident, Taeyeon suffered from sasaeng attention when they got a hold of her phone number.
Irene's special appearance on "Music Core in Jakarta," will air at a later time. Prior to that, Irene was part of Red Velvet as they finished up post-release promotions for "The Red Summer" featuring title track song "Red Flavor."
