Red Star Watch | Why do Korean artists commit suicide frequently?

Unexpectedly, the first month of 2021 is not over yet, and there is news of artist suicide in Korean entertainment circle: 26-year-old Korean actress Song Youting committed suicide at home; Iron, a 29-year-old hip-hop singer, died in a pool of blood, and South Korean police have ruled out homicide.
In recent years, the news of Korean artists’ suicide one after another is impressive. There are many Korean artists who suddenly left by "suicide" in Li Enzhu, Cui Zhenshi, Zhang Ziyan and recently Sulli. What are the reasons behind this surprising news?
Another Korean female artist is suicidal, only 26 years old.
Song youting, a 26-year-old Korean actress, committed suicide at home on January 23rd.
Song Yiting entered the entertainment circle as a model, and in 2013, he started the drama road with the drama "Golden Rainbow". Since then, he has performed "Speak Your Wish", "School 2017" and "Dear My Name". At present, the police have not announced the reasons for Song’s suicide.
The last update time of her social platform was December 30 last year, but she smiled sweetly at the camera. Nowadays, her beautiful figure can only be recalled through photos and films, which is infinitely embarrassing.
Songyouting
At the same time, Iron, the third runner-up of South Korea’s popular variety SHOW ME THE MONEY, also died on January 25, when security guards found him lying in the flower bed of an apartment in central Seoul, and he died after being taken to the hospital. According to the latest news, the South Korean police announced that the investigation of Iron’s death was over and homicide was ruled out.
Li Enzhu, Cui Zhenshi, Zhang Ziyan and Sulli … all chose this way to leave.
In fact, tragedies like Song Youting are not unfamiliar in South Korea. Every once in a while, the Korean entertainment industry will hear the news of artists committing suicide.
In 2005, Li Enzhu, a 25-year-old Korean actress, committed suicide in her apartment. Most of the reasons for her suicide were that she suffered from online violence due to shooting a large-scale nude play, which led to her depression.
Eun joo Lee
In 2007, 26-year-old singer U-Nee and 27-year-old actor Zheng Duobin hanged themselves.
In 2008, Cui Zhenshi, Han Xing, who performed Korean dramas "look for a star" and "Rose Life", was suspicious of online negative comments and depression, and hanged himself in the bathroom of his apartment at the age of 39. His younger brother Cui Zhenying and her ex-husband Zhao Chengmin also committed suicide in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Jin-sil Choi
Only one day after Cui Zhenshi committed suicide, South Korean star Zhang Caiyuan, who was maliciously slandered for sex-change surgery, was also found hanging herself in the bathroom at home at the age of 26.
In 2009, Zhang Ziyan, a Korean actress, committed suicide by hanging her neck in the Pentangjia Village of Gyeonggi Province at the age of 26. Later, the suicide note disclosed by the media revealed that she had been forced to provide sexual services to many people, including those who worked in planning companies, financial institutions and broadcasting companies. Ten years after Zhang Ziyan’s death, in 2019, South Korean President Moon Jae in ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
Jang Ja-Yeon
In 2011, Korean actress Han Caiyuan hanged herself at her home in Seoul, South Korea at four o’clock in the morning. Before her death, she wrote on her personal homepage: "I don’t want to hurt anymore, I don’t want to cry anymore … There are many things more important than money in this world … I can solve them as long as I succeed, but … alas!"
In 2017, Kim Jonghyun, a member of SHINee, a male singing group belonging to SM Entertainment with Sulli, was found to have committed suicide by burning charcoal in an apartment in Seoul, and died after being sent to hospital at the age of 27. Kim Jonghyun wrote in his suicide note: Depression eventually swallowed me up, and I couldn’t overcome it. I was just a lonely person. What more needs to be said? Just tell me that you have worked hard. Even if you can’t smile, please don’t blame me for sending me away.
Kim Jonghyun
In 2019, South Korean singer and actor Sulli committed suicide at home. She has revealed more than once that she had suffered from social phobia and panic disorder. After the news of love came out, she suffered from malicious messages and various rumors and temporarily suspended her performing arts activities.
Sulli
South Korea has enacted the Suicide Prevention Act.
Suicide is also a social problem in South Korea. Suicide has become the fifth leading cause of death for Koreans, after cancer, heart disease, pneumonia and cerebrovascular disease.
Statistics show that the main causes of Korean suicide are mental and economic aspects. Korean society generally believes that economic conditions are more important than personal happiness, and the whole society evaluates people with academic performance, company position, KPI and other rankings, which makes people feel great pressure.
According to South Korea’s "Central Daily News", in order to further prevent suicide, the South Korean government first formulated and published the pan-government "National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention" in 2018. In 2019, the newly revised Suicide Prevention Law of the Korean government came into effect. According to the law, anyone who uses the Internet to share suicide advice or attempts to conclude a suicide agreement will face up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 million won (about 116,900 yuan).
According to Korea Radio International, the South Korean government will conduct an in-depth analysis of the impact of celebrity suicides, and at the same time cooperate with the entertainment industry to develop suicide prevention projects to further improve suicide prevention countermeasures. Considering the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the public, the Korean government has also increased various psychological support. However, to reduce the suicide rate, more efforts and persistence are needed.
Red Star Journalist Ren Hongwei Intern Li Xi Editor Li Xueli
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