SASAENG

Abstract

“I’m your biggest fan, I’ll follow you until you love me…” SASAENG is a web toon/graphic novel inspired by the private fan-culture in the entertainment world, particularly in South Korea. In recent years, the Korean culture and entertainment had spread across the globe and created a unique fan-culture. A particular group of fans that had emerged from such a fan-culture was the ‘private fan’ (sasaeng-fan). Based on the above-mentioned South Korean idol fan-culture and set in Singapore, the story focuses on a ‘private fan’ (sasaeng-fan) whose obsession with her idol escalates as time passes. Her unhealthy obsession of the idol and desire for self-gratification cause her to take extreme steps to get close to him whom she claims to love. The protagonist’s obsession was evident through her actions and thoughts throughout the story, where she devised plans from initially harmless acts to criminal, destructive ones in order to achieve her goals.