WHAT HAPPENED TO FAN CULTURE?
Below are some of the latest news and gossip from Korean (and non-Korean) media regarding the recent Dream Concert incidents.

DISAPPOINTED IN SOTAKU AND CATRIEL'S FAN BATTLE
MK.co.kr
Translation: jstn @soshified.com/forums


Lack of preparation, staff and management resulted in injuries at the 14th annual Dream Concert.

The Korean Entertainment Production Association hosted the music festival, "I Love Korea! Dream Concert 2008" on June 7th at the Seoul JamSil Olympic Stadium with DBSK, Wonder Girls, Super Junior, Epik High, ss501, MC Mong and 20 other singers.

The concert attracted 50,000 fans which was higher than the expected volume and resulted in chaos due to lack of secruity and safety officers hired by the management.

Fans rushed towards the empty seats on the ground near the front of the stage soon after the concert began. The rush resulted in injuries and the concert had to be stopped to re-organize the infield.

Disputes between the fanclubs was also a problem.

The dispute began when DBSK's fanclub Casseopia, SS501's fanclub Triple S and SuJu's fanclub ELF (CaTriEl) demonstrated a 10 minutes of silence during the performance of SNSD as a retaliation against the mostly male based SNSD fanclub.

It was also found that a male-based fanclub of Wonder Girls (Wonderful) indirectly supported the demonstration which lead to a battle between the fanclub cultures. Also, using the variation of "otaku", SNSD fans are being referred as "SoTaku" and Wonder Girls fans as "WonTaku" by its rival fanclubs.

Fans are voicing their opinions on the '10 minute silence' incident. They were quoted, "Fights occur when two groups are equally at fault" and "There is nothing to be proud of the fact that the two groups are involved in this confrontation but SNSD fans should sincerely apologize for their violent behaviour against other fans (physically) and CaTriEl should officially apologize to the singers or to the fans for their '10 minute silence' incident" and that instead of pointing fingers, they should respect each other as a sign of being a mateur fan.

SNSD'S SILENCE, AND DANGEROUS BEHAVIOUR. WHAT HAPPENED TO FAN CULTURE?
NEWSPRIME.co.kr
Translation: jstn @soshified.com/forums


The crowd of 50000 overwhelmed the anticipated numbers and caused accidents at the Dream Concert which took place at the Seoul Olympic Main Stadium.

The immateur behaviour of the fanclubs was frowned upon.

The accidents began with the destruction of the fence due to the competition of the 'good' seats. The absence of safety awareness was clearly revealed by their actions. Few fans were injured and the concert was delayed for 20 minutes to clear out the area and move the wounded to the ambulance.

That was not the end. The confrontation between the fanclubs also ruined the performance atmosphere.

The media has indicated that the fanclub culture has lost its intent when other rival fanclubs kept silent during SNSD's performance.

The 10 minutes of silence during the SNSD's performance by the male-group fanclubs was clearly visible and revealed the current situation of our (Korea's) fan culture's lack of etiquette and manners.

Dream Concert festival which has been running for over 10 years have simply turned into a battleground for fanclubs rather than a celebration and a get-together of music fans. Majority of the people agree that a change in the behavour of fanclubs is needed.

JEALOUS B**CHES BOYCOTT GIRLS GENERATION
ALLKPOP
By: johnnydorama


The I Love Korea 2008 Dream Concert which was held on the 7th to boost Korean patriotism, instead only boosted the hostility between fan clubs.

During the opening of the concert, approximately 20 fans were injured and rushed to the hospital. The injuries occurred as fan clubs were fighting over their idols as well as for seats.

To make matters worse, while Girls' Generation performed for a duration of 10 minutes, all of the male idol group fan clubs (fat ugly girls) turned off their glow sticks, as well as "boo-ed" the girls.

Korea's fandom is quite ridiculous, as was the purpose of this concert. I'm sure the male boy bands weren't very appreciative of the nasty behavior that came about from their own fan clubs, then again, even when on their best behavior, who would be happy to be cheered on by thousands of ugly chicks?

One things for sure, if I were in an idol band, I'd make extra sure to never fall victim to those notorious beer goggles.

FANCLUB DISPUTES CAUSES INJURIES
SpiderLiliez LiveJournal
By: SpiderLiliez
Photo: DNBN


As you know, the news and rumors concerning this issue is getting uglier and uglier by the day. Recent accounts are saying that it has gotten to a point where several fans even submitted to using violence against fans from other fan clubs.

There has been a report about an E.L.F. member being stabbed allegedly by a boy who was rumored to be a supporter of a female girl group (rumored to be SNSD). There have also been reports of other fights between different fan club members resulting to more injuries.

A fan who claimed he/she witnessed two (2) boys sitting in front of her, one boy was reportedly holding a knife that he was purposely showing off to other people of other fan clubs. Netizens are assuming that what has been done (the stabbing incident) was a payback for those they say at fault, blaming fans and sometimes artists all together.

Despite all the good bits that SBS aired yesterday on the Dream Concert broadcast, the whole event has already been tarnished. If you have been deeply troubled by all these reports, you don’t have to believe everything mentioned in this article. But one thing’s for sure, these fights between fan clubs is getting way out of hand.

Artists’ management companies (specifically SM Entertainment) can’t just sit around and not do something about it. After all, these official fan clubs were initially set upped by these companies. So really, they should have “a say” to all these fiasco. The artists themselves also have to advice their fan clubs, since they (the fans) will likely listen to them. Parents need to do something about it too.

In addition to this article, what we are showing you below are pictures of a boy holding what seemed to be a knife during the concert. We provided the link of the entry from a Korean blog relating these pictures, plus read the English translation ( see link below ).

( click here ~ Stabbing Incident )

DREAM CONCERT 2008 ~ SHOWCASES UNNECESSARY FAN BEHAVIOR
SpiderLiliez LiveJournal
By: SpiderLiliez


Korea’s Dream Concert just finished a few hours later this evening (June 7, 2008). There seem to have been some bad incidents that have happened before and during the event. Some fans attending the concert appear to have another agenda than just watching their favorite artists on stage. These fans wanted show their disgust to other artists and their fan clubs, like messing up other fan clubs banners which also happened in last year's Asia Song Festival between TVXQ and FT Island fans.

Some fan reports that Girls Generation (SNSD) were repeatedly booed, and during their performances, they were not cheered on by most of the audience except for their fan club of course. Another incident involving SNSD fans and Super Junior’s E.L.F. fan club seem to have shocked some of the audience as well as netizens. Some Super Junior fans who were in the second level reportedly poured water on some SNSD fans who were seated below. While recent accounts claim that some fan club members tore banners created by other fan clubs.

From these recent reports, the event sounded very chaotic. Reports of fans jumping off the barriers who wanted to get close on the stage delayed the concert for about 30 minutes. These kind of fan behavior seem to be everywhere during events like these and it's getting worse. Whether if its all true or not, we still need to get confirmations of all these rumors.

Meanwhile favorites Dong Bang Shin Ki (TVXQ) performed their hit single "Purple Line" wearing silver and white costumes. Fans admit its refreshing seeing them performing in their white outfits. They sang live, which is awesome because when not in Japan they usually lip sync their SMP songs in big events like these in Korea.

If you were unable to attend the concert or unable watch the delayed telecast at Pandora TV, you can still catch it on SBS today (June 8). The show starts at 3:30pm to 5:10pm (Korea time). Originally the concert was three (3) hours long but SBS will broadcast the event for just 1 hour and 40 minutes which means some performances might be edited out. If you have cable and have the channel, good for you, if not you can always try watching at TVAnts ( click here ).


WATCH FANCAMS
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