K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
THE FAN
Hajar is a 19 year old female who is really passionate about supporting a Korean Pop group, Teen Top. Although K-Pop brought much joy in her life, her passion for it also made her estrange from what's important to her - family.
MESSAGE
K-Pop Kraze is not just another documentary. We go beyond the life of a K-Pop fan whose life has been affected because of her liking for her it. We explore the themes of the costs of being a fan, finding one's identity and of course, love and reconciliation.
written on Friday, 8 February 2013 @ 20:48 ∞ 0 candies
Have you ever booked a taxi to follow your favorite star
around all day? Have you ever thrown yourself in front of a celebrity’s car
just so that you would have some sort of an interaction with them? Have you
ever written a fan mail with your period
blood?
If you responded yes to any of these, you are what the
Koreans call a ‘sasaeng’ fan.
Define 'sasaeng':
A 'sasaeng' fan is an extreme K-Pop fan,
who viciously stalk and invade the privacy of their idols.
To put it simply, a ‘sasaeng’ fan is a celebrity’s worst
nightmare. In Korea, the ‘sasaeng’ community is made up of young teenage girls.
They have dedicated their lives to follow their idols around, everywhere. There have also been
incidents of the fans breaking into the dorms of the stars. Inside, they take
pictures of the sleeping idols, satisfied that they have reached such a close
proximity with the stars.
(Left) A huge crowd of sasaeng fans watch as JYJ member - Kim Junsu, eats in a restaurant. (Right) A sasaeng's photo of a sleeping JYJ member - Kim Jaejoong. (source: Nate)
In Singapore, the fans are not as extreme, thankfully.
“Some Singaporean fans book a room in the same hotel as the
stars and book a van to follow them wherever they go. It’s scary but it’s
nothing compared to what ‘sasaeng’ fans do,” Faiz Suhairi, 19, a K-Pop fan
says.
This unhealthy obsession with a celebrity has affected many
lives. Many of these fans have dropped out from school and are shunned by their
families. They are blinded by the thrill of following a star and are
unaware that this obsession may just be a temporary phase in their lives.
While it’s okay to have a liking for a celebrity, there has
to be a limit. Unhealthy obsession
should be avoided, seeing what it could do one’s life.
What are some of the stories you have heard extreme fans
have done? Share your stories through our chatbox on the left!
Update: Sasaeng fans - the scariest kind of fans.
written on Friday, 8 February 2013 @ 20:48 0 chocolates
Have you ever booked a taxi to follow your favorite star
around all day? Have you ever thrown yourself in front of a celebrity’s car
just so that you would have some sort of an interaction with them? Have you
ever written a fan mail with your period
blood?
If you responded yes to any of these, you are what the
Koreans call a ‘sasaeng’ fan.
Define 'sasaeng':
A 'sasaeng' fan is an extreme K-Pop fan,
who viciously stalk and invade the privacy of their idols.
To put it simply, a ‘sasaeng’ fan is a celebrity’s worst
nightmare. In Korea, the ‘sasaeng’ community is made up of young teenage girls.
They have dedicated their lives to follow their idols around, everywhere. There have also been
incidents of the fans breaking into the dorms of the stars. Inside, they take
pictures of the sleeping idols, satisfied that they have reached such a close
proximity with the stars.
(Left) A huge crowd of sasaeng fans watch as JYJ member - Kim Junsu, eats in a restaurant. (Right) A sasaeng's photo of a sleeping JYJ member - Kim Jaejoong. (source: Nate)
In Singapore, the fans are not as extreme, thankfully.
“Some Singaporean fans book a room in the same hotel as the
stars and book a van to follow them wherever they go. It’s scary but it’s
nothing compared to what ‘sasaeng’ fans do,” Faiz Suhairi, 19, a K-Pop fan
says.
This unhealthy obsession with a celebrity has affected many
lives. Many of these fans have dropped out from school and are shunned by their
families. They are blinded by the thrill of following a star and are
unaware that this obsession may just be a temporary phase in their lives.
While it’s okay to have a liking for a celebrity, there has
to be a limit. Unhealthy obsession
should be avoided, seeing what it could do one’s life.
What are some of the stories you have heard extreme fans
have done? Share your stories through our chatbox on the left!
About Kpop Kraze
What?: K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Who?: Hajar Salim, a 19 year old K-Pop fanatic, is the profile of this documentary. She is a huge fan of the Korean boy band, Teen Top. Although she found joy in supporting the group, her passion has resulted in family problems. She spends most of her time in her room, occupied with K-Pop and hardly talks to her parents. She has done many things in secrecy and has to constantly hide stuff to prevent her parents from finding out how much she has spent on the group. However, an incident served as a wake up call, made her re-think about what she was really doing with her life. Now, follow her story as she wraps up her passion with 1 final project, celebrating Teen Top's 1000th day anniversary, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Why?: This story is important because the Korean-Wave it at it's peak right now. We all have seen and heard about Kpop, thanks to Psy, and we have heard of how dedicated Kpop fans can get. However, we have never ventured into this.
Kpop Kraze unveils the stories of the costs of being a fan, finding identity and love and reconciliation.
When?: K-Pop Kraze is a documentary which follows the story of an extreme K-Pop fan who's giving up her obsession with 1 final project, in hopes of reconciling with her parents.
Where?: Get the latest updates on this story through our other social media sites:
The Team are all students from Singapore Polytechnic, pursuing a diploma in Creative Writing for Television and New Media (DTVM).
For an assignment, we have been tasked to produce a film that features an interesting profile, through whom we have to tell a compelling story that explores a theme or social issue. In our case, you can view our idea and story through this blog.
THE TEAM
WONG KING LAM
Cameraman
King is a 19-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
KYLIE KAY
Editor
Kylie is an 18-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
NUR HAZIRAH YUSOFF
Soundperson
Hazirah is a 19-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
HEIDI JAMAL
Producer
Heidi is an 18-year-old DTVM student in Singapore Polytechnic.
OUR JOURNEY
King's Journey
Filming a documentary has always seemed like a very boring task to me. After actually filming several, they have taught me filming a documentary is actually much more difficult than filming a short film. There are no re-takes, you have to wait for the right moment and just hope that you capture it. It has made me respect those great documentary makers. Another thing I’ve learnt is that sometimes, a smaller group is better. The individual we wanted to film was less shy when there were less crew, so sometimes you have to understand the person you wish to film and adapt to them.
This scene was tough to film as Hajar got pretty shy. Some of us had to leave the room so as to allow her to open up.
Kylie's journey
I realized that for documentary, you'll really have to be constantly on your feet and look out if there's anything interesting to capture. For our documentary, I felt that we missed out a lot of important or key moments because we only had one camera and we were not alert enough. Also, having a backup plan is always important. In the case of being unable to film a particular sequence, having a backup plan will most definitely help. And for the number of footage, the more the merrier. These are some things that I have learnt.
Hazirah's Journey
Firstly, I think this experience has been a huge eye-opener for me as documentary making is really unexpected. You think that everything is going according to plan, but then once we review it and go for consultations, there are a lot of things missing. However, I really did enjoy my time, and I’ve discovered that its good to have team members that help push each other to be the best. Also, certain things can be a blessing in disguise. For example, during the Chinese New Year period, only Heidi and me could go for filming, but because of that day, we were forced to learn a lot of things in regards to handling the camera.
Heidi's Journey
A documentary is not easy, although it’s only 5 minutes. You have to move quick and think on your feet. You have to be brave to take risks. You need to sacrifice your comfort zone and do whatever it takes to make sure it works.
Here we see how Hazirah had to uncomfortably lie on the floor to get the soundbite during the interview.
I learnt the importance of always checking the sequences that has been filmed. I learnt that we need to check immediately after filming because in the hustle & bustle, you might forget to film some sequences.
The film was also close to my heart in a sense that the profile is my close friend and that I like K-Pop too. Filming her and researching more about K-Pop made me understand both her and K-Pop much better.
