[Discuss] Celebrities Exposed to Danger on Stage?

Last week, ZE:A’s Kevin and Dong Jun nearly got attacked by a drunk man during a live performance. The members didn’t suffer any injuries, as security showed up soon after, but fans were absolutely stunned by how easily the man was able to find his way on-stage. But, believe it or not, last week’s incident was not the first time we saw K-Pop artists get attacked by someone in the crowd. In fact, a string of dangerous events stemming from lack of security have occurred recently, bringing light to the weak safety measures on K-Pop’s live stages.

This has caused fans to voice their concerns and urge for better security measures at live events. However, there is no stated law to control these actions or any real solution (e.g. higher fences, more gap between crowd and stage, excessive security force, etc) to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Industry officials say the only real solution is to wait for fans to become more educated, and build a more mature fandom culture, as it’s difficult to add any physical measure at this point. However, some argue it’s critical to increase security and build safer stages to ensure the safety of these artists.

What are your thoughts? How can we prevent further incidents from happening again, while providing an equally valuable viewing experience? What is needed to protect these artists? Share your ideas!

Here are five videos of the most recent fan-attacks in K-Pop:

On August 10^th, a drunk man came up on stage during ZE:A’s live performance of “Heart for 2.” The guy took away Kevin’s mic and made contact with Dong Jun, before being pulled away by security that showed up moments later. Luckily, none of the members got hurt from the incident, but ZE:A and fans were astounded at the way these live stages were being protected, as Dong Jun’s confused look explains.

In June, INFINITE’s Dong Woo also got attacked by a fan. Only this time, the fan didn’t even have to go up on stage. During the performance of “Nothing’s Over,” as Dong Woo moved closer to the crowd, someone from the audience grabbed his leg and pulled him away from the rest of the group, almost causing him to fall off-stage. Staff members quickly approached the fan and prevented any further damage, but it could have easily escalated into a more dangerous situation.

The “nation’s little sister,” IU, has also suffered from a fan-attack last May. During her performance at a college fest, a pinkish red laser beam was streaked across her face. You could easily tell someone from the audience was doing the harm, but IU handled the situation like a real pro and continued to sing till the end of the song.

In April, K-Pop fandom was in total disarray after this video of SNSD’s Taeyeon being dragged off stage by a stranger surfaced online. It was later revealed the crazy man was a college student but just pretended to be a staff member, and that was enough to gain access on-stage. But due to the show’s MC and Sunny’s quick reaction to the man, Taeyeon did not suffer any injuries and was able to complete the performance. 

Also in April, a video of Wheesung getting nearly kicked by a man from the crowd emerged online. In the video, a man in red shirt suddenly walks up the stage and out of nowhere throws a flying kick at Wheesung. Luckily, Wheesung dodged the kick and security immediately showed up to save the singer, but it was definitely a dangerous moment as Wheesung could have easily hurt himself.