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On September 29, 2023, several videos of ZB1's Ricky went viral on social media where he was mobbed by sasaengs at his personal schedule where he was spotted with Zhang Hao & Chen Kuan Jui at the prestigious restaurant Haidilao in China.
During this encounter, sasaengs mobbed him, desperately seeking ZB1's Ricky's attention. They cornered him on the escalator, attempted to talk to him, and even waited for him outside the restaurant.
Sasaengs are mostly known to be obsessive fans who stalk idols and invade their personal space, exhibiting obsessive behavior.
As the videos went viral on social media, fans couldn't control themselves and were outraged by sasaengs' behavior, stating that they should be in jail.
"It's honestly so disturbing": Fans are outraged at the sasaengs' obsessive behavior towards ZB1's Ricky
As videos and photos from the aforementioned restaurant went viral on social media, fans could see how sasaengs almost mobbed ZB1's Ricky while he was walking, capturing his photos, and not letting him move freely.
ZB1's Ricky was also spotted being cornered on an escalator, where he tried to avoid eye contact with fans who were attempting to strike up conversations with him while taking his photos.
Translation for the aforementioned tweet.
"I was surrounded by so many people... It was my first day off in a while.I ran around hard, but... Haoya, you. If it's good, it's okay.."
ZB1's Ricky seemed uncomfortable as he was caught between obsessive sasaengs. Fans were even more angered when they saw the sasaengs forming a crowd and waiting for him outside the restroom, not giving him any personal space.
"No, are you crazy?? Don't you have any common sense?? Ha, you really have no concept. This. Doing this even in front of the bathroom is stalking. Didn't you learn that in school??? It's so fucking creepy. They're people too. How creepy would it be if they were waiting in front of the bathroom like this. Then they say they'll even disguise themselves as men to go in. Are you crazy?": Translation for the aforementioned tweet.
Fans on social media criticized their behavior and stated that if they were there, they would gladly break their cameras and wouldn't hesitate to defend ZB1's Ricky's personal space.
Check out how fans are reacting to the sasaengs' wait outside the restroom for ZB1's Ricky and cornering him on the escalator:
Moreover, it is worth noting that ZEROBASEONE has a huge fanbase in China, which often leads to crowds of fans awaiting him. Many fans also noted that unfortunately, this kind of behavior is common in China, and as they are powerful and supportive, there's always a dark side to it. One fan commented on an Instagram post discussing the aforementioned incident:
"Well Ive notice that this extreme obsessive stalking kinda culture is more prevalent among chinese fans!!"
"Although ik there are these stalker fans everywhere but i remember when bts used to tour many chinese fansites would book the same flights and it became a very weird situation where they had to start using private jets although they were comfortable in it !! Chinese fanbases are very powerful and supportive but it also has a dark side to it... ps its just my observation"
Many fans also noted that sometimes sasaengs even disguise themselves as men to enter the restroom, which feels disgusting to them. They want the group's agency, Wakeone, to take proper action, and some wondered what security was doing.
Needless to say, fans are surprised by the disgusting behavior of these fans and want to ensure proper space and privacy for ZB1's Ricky.
In recent news, the group recently went live on Instagram, where they interacted with their fans for twenty minutes, delighting them.
ZB1's Ricky, along with other members of ZEROBASEONE, will be making a second comeback on November 6, 2023.
