Super Junior were involved in a 7 car pile up here last year (Twitter screengrab)
When it comes to bizarre, violent and over-the-top behaviour, it's clear that Korean sasaeng fans take the cake.
But interviews and checks by Yahoo! show that the sasaeng phenomena has been catching on here in Singapore too, albeit on a smaller scale.
Just like Seoul, there is a small but growing market here for "sasaeng vans" hired by groups of fangirls to tail their idols and stalk them at their hotels.
Media reports said that the collision had allegedly been caused by eight Singaporean sasaeng fans who were dangerously tailgating the idol group's minivans.
While the SuJu boys were not hurt, Singaporean fans received a stern rebuke from them via Twitter.
Lee Teuk takes to Twitter to tell off Singaporean fans (Twitter screengrab)
"Here in Singapore... I have the impression that it is a beautiful place. I'm okay with you guys following our car, but please be careful .. it was a 7 car pile up... I almost died," posted Super Junior member Lee Teuk in Korean.
Video below: Super Junior arrives in Singapore to thousands of waiting female fans
Local sasaeng 'uncle' vans
Some media reports say that the fans were following Super Junior in taxis, but the trend of renting "sasaeng" minivans here in Singapore is also catching on.
From as low as $40 an hour, minivan drivers here are offering their services to young fans who are determined to hunt down their k-pop idols.
Usually part-time deliverymen in their forties, these entrepreneurial "van uncles" have found a source of income more steady and lucrative than their day jobs.
Some of them have been doing this from as long as three years ago when K-pop was just starting to take-off, and many have developed insider contacts over the years who tip them off about locations and schedules.
"I charge them $100 an hour... yes it's very ex(pensive) but I make sure they see their idols in their vans and my information - always correct one," said one van uncle, whose "specialty" is hunting down the super-popular TVXQ when they are in town.
Contacted via his mobile number, he refused to disclose his name, age, or occupation for fear of getting into trouble with the law.
"I don't want to get caught... sometimes I need to speed up to 120 or 130 km per hour to catch them. But so far no accidents, only exciting," he said.
"Most of the fans are young girls, secondary-school going age. We link up on forums, find out who wants to share. One van can take 12 fans, so its quite cheap in the end," an ex-B2st Singaporean fan told Yahoo!
The 22-year-old fan, who wanted to be known only as Joan, said that the stalking starts from the moment her idols touch down in Singapore until they jet off again.
Video below: B2st arrive in Changi Airport last year
High speed sasaeng chases
"We would follow their vans very closely... or the driver would go very fast. A few times we nearly got into an accident, but mostly it would be like scratches on the kerb when the van suddenly swerved... B2st's drivers would try to shake us off by driving very fast," said Joan.
"Some fans don't even eat or sleep," she added.
According to Joan, the last time B2st was in Singapore, there were at least 20 local sasaeng vans and over 200 fans stalking them 24/7 for the three days they were here.
"We chased them from airport to their hotel, from their hotel to their meal at Jumbo in Dempsey, then for their fan meet... non-stop," she said.
While the B2st boys ate their chilli crab inside Jumbo, about 150 fans stood outside the restaurant straining for a look.
According to self-professed SHINee sasaeng fans Joanna Lee, 15, and Adrian Toh, 16, fights are not uncommon when fans rush forward to greet their idols.
"Once, we queued up for eight hours so we were standing near the front SHINee's backstage entrance. Some fans who came later tried to push us out of the way, so we pushed back, and I got punched in my nose," said Toh.
Lee said that on one occasion, security had to be called in to break up a fight over fan-boards, or placards made to get their idol's attention.
TVXQ fans in Singapore wave their fan boards (Photo courtesy of mykplayground)
Apparently, one female fan, angry with another, splashed a soft drink on her placard and it developed into a full-blown cat fight complete with screaming and slaps.
A growing problem?
Industry insiders Yahoo! spoke to said that the problem of overly persistent sasaeng fans in Singapore is becoming worrying.
"We have had to sometimes double or triple our security people to make sure that the members are not hurt," said a public relations executive whose company has brought in several big-name K-pop acts.
"Some of the groupies even try to flirt with security personnel or crew to get details like where the boys are going next, what's their itinerary, which floor they are staying on in a hotel. It's starting to get too invasive," she said.
While she used to be agreeable to giving food bought by fans to her artistes, she now refuses to do so for fear that the food may be tainted or poisoned.
Freelance personal assistant Mark Yeo, 27, who works with K-pop management companies when they are in town says that while most of the girls are relatively harmless, there are an increasing number of those who go overboard.
"One fangirl told me she would give me $4,000 if I could take a photo of her K-pop idol in his boxers or underwear. I joked that I would lose my job, and then she offered me $7,000 if I would bring her up to the artiste's room. Totally obsessed and scary," he said.
Why they do it
Joanne explained sasaeng behaviour here as being largely influenced by their Korean counterparts in Seoul.
"When most of us first started, we were very well behaved," she said. "But when you see how passionate Korean fans are about chasing their idols and how much they know about them, it just seemed so exciting. You want to be near them, touch them, you know?"
Joan says its the adrenaline of the chase and being part of a group that has the same goal.
"On our own, I doubt we will dare to do anything so daring, but in a group, we egg each other on, and we dare to try to new things. Its definitely exciting -- when the boys wink, smile, or wave at us, its worth all the effort," she said.
Look our for Sasaeng Stalkers (Part 3), where we speak to a Singapore sasaeng who flies to Seoul, Korea, twice a year just to stalk her favourite K-pop idols.
Read Part 1 of Sasaeng Stalkers here
