‘I may be the most harassed person in South Korea’: Former TVXQ member Jaejoong once woke up at home to stalker kissing him

Humans are much scarier than ghosts, according to K-pop star Jaejoong.

The former TVXQ and JYJ member appears on the July 21 episode of MBC talk show Midnight Ghost Stories, and snippets from the episode were shared by South Korean media recently.

Jaejoong, 38, was introduced as “a friend who doesn’t believe in ghosts” by host Kim Gu-ra, but nevertheless had scary tales of being targeted by obsessive sasaengs (a Korean term meaning “private life” and referring to stalkers) in his 20-year-career.

“I may be the most harassed person by sasaengs in South Korea,” he said.

When asked if he once woke up to a stalker inside his home holding his hand, Jaejoong revealed that the encounter was much worse.

“It wasn’t just holding hands, it was a kiss,” he said.

Jaejoong added that he woke and saw a woman lying over him on the bed. Initially thinking it was a dream, he tried to go back to sleep. He then opened his eyes again and realised she was actually there – and a stalker.

He revealed that another sasaeng used to ring his doorbell every night, and when questioned by the police, they said that they wanted to “feel” Jaejoong’s touch through pressing the same buttons he did.

‘It’s so distressing’

Jaejoong also appeared on the YouTube channel Today hosted by Joo Woo-jae to discuss his latest solo album Flower Garden, which has a song about sasaengs called Don’t.

Woo-jae shared that when he read the lyrics to the song, he initially thought it was meant to be a hidden track because of its content. But Jaejoong said that the upbeat melody, coupled with the lyrics,  gives the track a more “black comedy feel”.

He also turned Don’t into a dance challenge, with responses and collabs with fellow celebs including Super Junior’s Heechul, 2am’s Jo Kwon, Seventeen’s Dino, as well as BtoB’s Minhyuk and Hyunsik.

But the real-life stories of being stalked are much more harrowing.

Jaejoong said that since time had passed, he could discuss them now, adding: “If I told everyone the truth then, I was afraid they might do even more extreme stuff.”

He explained that things were different back in the day, and sasaengs would still be considered fans and people would think it was okay to stalk celebrities at their homes.

“Imagine being stalked for a year, it’s so distressing you might want to take your own life,” Jaejoong said. “But the punishment for stalking used to only be a fine between 1.5 million won (S$1,450) and 3 million won.”

He added that it was even more frightening when the stalkers paid the fine, because “that’s when the real problem starts”.

“You’ll be scared of revenge, so you’re forced to leave the neighbourhood,” he said.

Looking back at the incidents, Jaejoong felt that they are no longer a big deal, but added that he “suffered to death” at the time.