Recently, the Netflix series 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' has become a massive hit. Beyond the acclaim for the animation itself, the soundtrack has been well-received on global music platforms, proving its popularity by reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts—a feat many other idols have struggled to achieve. Among these, the backstory of the sub-unit and boy group 'Saja Boys' and their track 'Your Idol' left quite an impact. The composer revealed in an interview with Forbes that they used the 'obsession' they witnessed from idol fans during their trainee days as a motif for the lyrics and arrangement.

Commonly referred to as 'sasaeng'—a term for those who invade the private lives of idols—these individuals commit criminal acts without hesitation, causing various problems for idols and those around them. Examples include breaking into the private spaces of the idols they are obsessed with, taking photos, stealing personal items, or obsessively tracking flight schedules to board the same planes and observe their behavior. As K-pop culture has spread, these behaviors of sasaeng fans have become known as the shadow of idol culture, and the issue has gained global attention.

In the midst of this, a horror game based on this 'sasaeng' phenomenon has unveiled its Steam page and announced its upcoming release. How exactly did the developers, who emphasized 'realistic horror,' approach this subject? We sat down with the husband-and-wife duo behind J-Hyun Studio, J-Hyun and Chloe, to talk about the horror game 'Sasaeng'.

J-Hyun Studio's horror game 'Sasaeng' is a first-person psychological horror game played from the perspective of a K-pop idol. Players directly experience the anxious daily life of an idol exposed to the threat of stalking and discover traces of 'sasaeng' fans invading their personal spaces, such as dorms and practice rooms. A key feature of 'Sasaeng' is that different endings appear based on the fear felt during this process and the choices made in such situations.

The core element J-Hyun Studio focused on is making players gradually experience how a space that should be extremely ordinary and safe transforms into something threatening. According to developer J-Hyun, "We amplify doubt and anxiety through clues such as suspicious letters and gifts from sasaeng fans, or news reports about sasaengs casually playing on the TV. As this indirect and psychological pressure accumulates, players are drawn deep into a state of fear where they don't know who to trust or suspect."

Players take on the role of the idol 'Ji-woo' and go through what seems to be her perfect daily life. However, the peaceful time is short-lived; with the ominous feeling that someone is watching, inexplicable cracks begin to appear throughout her daily routine. As the game progresses, players experience the anxiety that their private space is no longer safe and the feeling that their ordinary surroundings are gradually becoming a threat.

Of course, they did not treat this lightly. One of the major concerns during the development process was adjusting the 'boundary between horror and discomfort.' This is because, if handled poorly, the discomfort caused by the subject matter could outweigh the thrills and fun of a horror game. J-Hyun Studio explained that they designed most of the horror to be felt through psychological pressure and suspicion to solve this problem.

 

Developer J-Hyun added, "Sasaeng is a very sensitive and important issue in K-pop culture. The game focuses on going beyond simply depicting them as external enemies, allowing players to directly experience the psychological pressure and the horror that seeps into the daily lives of top idols from their perspective." Furthermore, they explained, "Of course, there are some provocative scenes. However, we did not use them as devices for simple stimulation, but as a narrative climax where the tightly built psychological tension explodes. These appear only at decisive moments, such as the ending branch where the protagonist's anxiety and delusions reach their peak and completely consume reality," explaining their efforts not to treat a real-world problem as a mere subject.

J-Hyun Studio is a husband-and-wife indie game development team that creates realistic horror within daily life. J-Hyun Studio consists of the husband, 'J-Hyun', who is in charge of programming and overall game system design, and the wife, 'Chloe', who adds ideas in various fields such as planning, sound, and art. Initially, it was a one-person development project started by the husband, but after seeing him focus on development alone after work or on weekends, developer Chloe began to give advice from a player's perspective, and they are now making games together as a couple and as irreplaceable colleagues.

The games created by J-Hyun Studio reflect the philosophy and experience of director J-Hyun, who believes, "Horror is not far away; it can be right at my door." Developer J-Hyun said, "The planning for our first work, 'apt.407', started from my memories of the old corridor-style apartment I lived in when I was young. At night, the end of the corridor was so dark that I couldn't see it, and because the soundproofing wasn't good, I could vividly hear the sounds from the neighbors next door and upstairs. That memory led to the thought that 'even the most ordinary residential space can be quite scary'."

Here, developer Chloe's sharp feedback helped. With critiques like, "This is just jumping out to surprise people, it's not scary," or "I can't empathize with why the protagonist is acting like this," they began to think about various elements that make users think about the stories behind the space or the emotions of the characters. Developer J-Hyun shared his thoughts, saying, "I think it ended as a first work with many regrettable and lacking parts, but in that process, we were able to clearly find the direction we should go. I realized that if technical implementation is the skeleton of horror, the story and emotion contained within it are the heart."

The game where this concept is further expanded is their next work, 'Sasaeng'. For a K-pop idol, a dorm or practice room should be the most comfortable and safe space, but they create horror with the atmosphere that this space is being invaded by someone's malicious gaze. Developer J-Hyun stated, "There are still difficulties. I feel a sense of responsibility that we should not consume real social problems lightly or stimulatingly. Finding a balance point that properly expresses the depth of pain experienced by victims while not missing the thrills and fun as a horror game is our biggest task right now."

Currently, J-Hyun Studio is continuing development at home while taking care of their child. The biggest advantage of this remote development is flexibility. It is because they can respond fluidly without being tied to time when the child is suddenly sick or needs to be taken to daycare. In addition, it is also an advantage that they can turn on the computer and focus on work whenever an idea comes to mind, whether it's dawn or the weekend.

The fact that there are no fixed costs such as separate office rent is also a part that cannot be ignored for indie developers. Of course, there are also disadvantages. Since they work at home, which can also be called a place of rest, the boundary between work and life becomes blurred. Since the two developers use a room as an office, they often think about work even during breaks, and they often stay up all night thinking they will only fix bugs.

J-Hyun Studio said, "We hope that 'Sasaeng' will not be remembered only as a horror game that makes your heart drop. After playing the game, we hope it becomes an opportunity to think at least once about the fact that there may be someone's sacrifice and pain behind the flashy content we consume without thinking. Also, we hope that we can empathize and talk together about the seriousness of stalking crimes that are prevalent in our society, not just for idols. We will make a game that can give a small resonance beyond horror."

The two are currently doing their best for the release of 'Sasaeng'. It is unknown what their next work will be, but the direction is clear. It is to focus on 'realistic horror containing Korean spaces, culture, and stories' to provide fresh fun and horror. For the next subject, they are considering various elements through conversation, such as spaces where competition and anxiety are embedded like 'hagwon' (cram schools) or 'goshiwon' (small study rooms), or reinterpreting traditional Korean elements like 'shamanism' in a modern way. The final goal of J-Hyun Studio is 'to make players around the world feel a deeper interest in the country of Korea through games'.