Jung Joon-young answers reporters' questions as he enters the Seoul Central District Court for his trial, March 14, 2019. Hankook Ilbo photo by Ko Young-kwon

Former K-pop fanatic zooms in on star-fan relations in debut film

By Lee Hae-rin

Oh Se-yeon, 22, has a vivid yet traumatic memory of the time she realized that her favorite star, Jung Joon-young, was a very different person from who she thought. The man who had mesmerized teenage girls in the 2010s had been leading a double life: he was a shining star by day but at night he was a sex offender.

"One day, my 'oppa' became a criminal," Oh narrates in her debut film, "Fanatic."

Like other teenage girls her age, Oh was a huge fan of K-pop stars. Her favorite was Jung. When she first discovered him, he was an audition contestant who was on a rerun of an audition show that was popular in 2012.

"It started with curiosity at first sight," she said. "'Who is this charming person, singing and performing so great on stage?' I wondered. Then I started digging for more information about him and became his fan."

Her curiosity developed into a strong form of attachment to Jung when his career thrived after the show.

For seven years as a teen, she was a diehard fan. She was lucky and good at it, too, as suggested by the film's original title in Korean ― "Seung-deok," which refers to a successful fan who gets to interact with their idol.

In this scene from the movie "Fanatic," a teenaged Oh Se-yeon reads a love letter to singer Jung Joon-young on a television program he appeared on with her. Courtesy of AUD

After Jung debuted as a singer and grew in popularity, she supported him devotedly. She caught Jung's attention by wearing a traditional Korean hanbok at an autograph-signing event and even had a chance to appear on a television show with Jung and read him her love letter. That day, he told her to "study hard," as she was still a high school student, so she worked so hard that she became the top student in her class.

Her attachment to Jung was the greatest motivation in her life. That is, until March 2019, when she read a news report that her idol had been involved in a serious crime.

Jung and other male celebrities of similar ages were convicted of having sexually assaulted women at drinking parties in 2016. Jung was sentenced to a prison term of five years, which was more than his peers got, because he was additionally indicted on charges of secretly filming himself having sexual intercourse with women and sharing the footage with his friends in mobile group chats.

Oh Se-yeon, the filmmaker of the documentary "Fanatic" / Courtesy of AUD

Oh felt that her seven passionate years of obsessing over Jung and the experience of growing together as a person were utterly denied on that day. She even felt guilty at the thought of remaining his fan. "I still pictured myself going to his concert, not to his trial at the Seoul Central District Court," she narrates in the film.

So she channeled her loss, anger and frustration into a documentary film.

"Fanatic" is Oh's debut film which hit theaters on Sept. 28. It is an autobiographical documentary and a black comedy, which she wrote, filmed, directed, starred in and edited. It took one-tenth of her 22 years alive to make, as she worked on the film for about two and a half years starting from May 2019.

Seen is the poster for Oh Se-yeon's documentary film "Fanatic," featuring her drawing of singer Jung Joon-young photoshopped with handcuffs while burning CDs and tablet devices. Courtesy of AUD

The film focuses on interviews with a dozen of Oh's friends and family members who share a common loss and anger as fans whose idols were exposed as criminals. From K-pop idols Seungri and Kangin to veteran actor Jo Min-ki, their "oppas" all committed different crimes but disappointed their fans alike.

In the movie, the recovering fans now strongly denounce their former idols, calling them "social evils," while struggling to move on with their lives. Oh even holds a "funeral" involving Jung's CDs and merchandise, which she enshrined with a friend who was a "stan," or overzealous fan, of K-pop boy band BigBang's Seungri.

"We shouldn't be ashamed of anything," Oh said. "It was a big part of their job to be loved by other people and we were loyal fans and consumers. However, I thought it was unfair that we, the fans, should carry shame on our shoulders and talk about our sorrow in the dark," Oh said in explaining her reasons behind making the documentary during a recent interview with The Korea Times.

Oh's camera also captures the other side of the fans who remain loyal to their idols who now have criminal records. Then the film features political fans like the Taegeuki protesters ― far-right political activists who wave the Korean national flag protesting the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye ― to question the parallels between different types of fans. The filmmaker makes no political judgments nor does she try to convey any message about their actions, but leaves such judgments up to the audience.

"Just because we used to love someone like that (who committed a crime), that doesn't mean that the fans must be people like them. If they were happy loving that person, I think that's good enough," Oh said. "Love is innocent."

The director suggested that anyone who has been let down by their favorite star should be able to relate to the film. She hoped that people who have been hurt amid their past attachment to idols might be able to "get back up and start loving again" after watching the film.

"Fanatic" was first screened at last year's 26th Busan International Film Festival, and it has created a small yet strong sensation among like-minded fans in the country. It was screened and won awards at several leading film festivals in Korea, including the Seoul Independent Film Festival and the Muju Mountain Film Festival. It officially hit theaters on Sept. 28 and has been viewed by over 10,000 moviegoers as of Tuesday.

The film was also invited to this year's London East Asia Film Festival, the U.K.'s biggest Asian film festival, and the 24th Udine Far East Film Festival. On Wednesday, the film was nominated for a Daejong Film Award.

This scene from Oh Se-yeon's movie "Fanatic" shows light sticks and posters of K-pop idols sold at a street stand. Courtesy of AUD

For Oh, being a "stan" is about "wanting to become a better person." She found comfort from Jung's songs on lonely nights and learned about herself while writing him a myriad of fan letters. In some ways, she grew to become who she is today "thanks to him," with a big heart capable of love, and a strong backbone and spirit to go all the way.

Audiences, many of whom share a version of Oh's experience but with different idols, seem fully to agree with her. Their shared sadness and strength built connections and friendly interactions between the director and the audience during a meet after the screening. Her audiences think of her "more like a friend or a comrade rather than a director of a film they watched," Oh said, and she is grateful for it.

Oh said her next obsession after Jung is cinema. Also a film major at the Korea National University of Arts, the director plans to go back to her studies and work on creating her next projects.

"We all have limited vision and that's why there are always parts left unseen in the world," Oh said. "'Fanatic' was a story of unseen people and I wish to keep making these unseen stories ― always with a sense of humor."