The disturbing ‘trend’ amongst Korean celebrities
 South Korea has certainly made a name for itself with its films and soap operas earning legions of fans across Asia. It’s gotten so ‘big’, in fact, that tourists visiting Seoul can now go visit the filming locations of some of those popular TV soaps. More riveting, however, is the Korean drama that has been unfolding in real life – the suicides of many of its stars in recent years.
The string of high profile deaths began surfacing in February 2005, when 24-year old actress Lee Eun-ju slit her wrists and hanged herself at her apartment in Bundang, Seongnam, just a few days after her graduation from Dankook University. Her family said that she suffered from severe bouts of depression due to the nude scenes she had done in the movie The Scarlet Letter.
Then, in January 2007, 26-year old actress and pop singer U-Nee was found dead, hanging from a door frame in her home in Incheon City. About a month later, actress Jeong Da-Bin also committed suicide by hanging herself. She was found dead in her boyfriend’s bathroom, just a few weeks before her 27th birthday.
The following year, fans of the Korean entertainment scene were shocked yet again by more celebrity suicides. In September, actor Ahn Jae-hwan, aged 36, was found dead in his car due to carbon monoxide poisoning. A month later, actress and model Choi Jin-sil, aged 39, widely considered one of the best actresses in South Korea, also committed suicide. She was found in the bathroom of her apartment with a rope made out of bandages around her neck.
Ahn Jae-hwan had apparently committed suicide due to depression and debt, while Choi Jin-sil became depressed and killed herself due to marital problems and malicious rumours circulating on the Internet that she had lent money to Ahn Jae-hwan, which drove him to kill himself.
The unfortunate ‘trend’ seems to have continued its dark streak into 2009. On March 7, TV soap star Jang Ja-yun, 27, was found hanging in her suburban Seoul apartment. It is believed that she ended her life because of depression, which some claim might have been the result of physical and sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of prominent figures in the entertainment industry. Less than a week later, on March 12, veteran singer Lee Chang-Young, 38, was also found dead in his house. Police suggest that he had hanged himself because he went bankrupt.
It would seem that despite their fame and success, these celebrities found it impossible to cope with depression brought on by: marital problems, the pressures of stardom, exploitation, malicious online rumors, shortage of work and the poor economy. If you think that these issues are just part and parcel of celebrity life, and that the Koreans should just get a grip, think of the number of international stars who have succumbed to similar pressures over the years.
If anything, these high-profile deaths have cast a spotlight on the South Korea’s alarming suicide rate, which the World Health Organisation reports as being one of the highest in the world. Experts also warn that these celebrity suicides may spark a wave of copycat deaths amongst fans. While that is very much a cause for concern, perhaps the nation has got to start taking a long hard look at the seedy underbelly of its beloved entertainment industry. How many more of its celebrities have to die before something is done?
* Adline A. Ghani is an assistant museum curator tandem mummy who resides in Petaling Jaya. This multi-tasker is also pursuing her Masters in Art and Design.
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