K-pop superstars BTS have an enormously dedicated fandom, but there is a very small minority of fans who take their obsession with the group too far – and group member V has spoken up about it.

Broadcasting on the VLIVE app, V – real name Kim Tae-hyung – said that the group had experienced some “uncomfortable” encounters, Teen Vogue reports. He explained that the group flies on private jets not for reasons of luxury, but of security and privacy.

“I should say this on our team’s behalf,” he said, according to VLIVE’s official translation, “you know how we get on planes by ourselves? We fly on a charter flight. We actually want to fly on a regular flight. But when we travel long distance or short distance, fans may know beforehand that we will be boarding and sit next to us, or in front of us.”

“In those private spaces, we don’t get to relax as much as we want to. So we were a bit uncomfortable. To be frank with you, we don’t want you to do that... It’s really scary.”

In South Korean entertainment and idol culture, fans who take part in invasive behaviour like this are referred to as sasaeng fans, translating to “private life”. Koreaboo previously reported on BTS’s Jungkook receiving a call from a sasaeng while on a live broadcast: “This is a call from a fan. It’s saying ‘You’re doing a VLIVE and I just called to check.’ What I do is, I immediately blocked the call. I actually get a lot of calls from sasaeng fans,” he said.