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Asian Culture, Lifestyle and Entertainment

Suicide in South Korea (tag archive)

Archive of Korean suicide issues and celebrity suicide news. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and the highest among developed nations.

South Koreans shaken by latest actress suicide

March 18, 2009 by Yein Jee

Late Korean actress Jang Ja-yunSouth Koreans are shaken by another suicide scandal following the death of actress Jang Ja-yun (pic)… and this latest case might be darker than ever.

Koreans were shocked by numerous celebrity suicide incidents in 2008, including the death of Ahn Jae-hwan, Choi Jin-shil and a few lesser known artists.

The unfortunate trend seems to continue in 2009 with the death of Jang on March 7th, while trot singer Lee Chang-young was also found dead in an apparent suicide on March 12th.

Jang was initially ruled to have ended her life because of stress, but the situation took a sudden twist following revelation from Jang’s ex-manager, Yoo, that her suicide was a conspiracy.

Yoo said that Jang had requested him (on Feb 28) to hand over a seven-page document to her family should anything happen to her; and the document hinted that Jang (and some other female artists) might have been physically and sexually abused by prominent figures in the entertainment industry.

The revelation has caused uproar in the Korean public, and Yoo himself is said to have attempted suicide on March 14th because of the immense pressure. The police is now investigating into the claims, hope that justice could be served. Rest in peace.

[Update] Police are seriously investigating the scandal. CEO of Jang’s former agency has been arrested.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: East Asia, Korean pop culture, Korean showbiz, Korean suicides, Obituaries, South Korea

Another Hallyuwood suicide

October 9, 2008 by Yein Jee

Gay model Kim Ji-hoo (pic) became the latest Korean entertainer to commit suicide.

Korean entertainer Kim Ji-hooChoi was found dead on October 6; he was the second entertainer who committed suicide following the death of actress Choi Jin-shil last week. Earlier on October 3, transsexual entertainer Jang Chae-won committed suicide ala Choi Jin-shil’s method.

Initial investigations suggested that Kim committed suicide because of career block and online harassment of his sexual preference, while Jang chosen the path because of a broken relationship.

I’ve read somewhere that there was at least another two copycat suicide since Choi’s death… and the Korean authorities are fearing that the suicide chain would create a domino effect in the Korean society, which is already fragile with their high suicide rate.

The Korean government is drafting a law against malicious rumours and slandering via the internet, as the online harassment is seen as one of the major causes of entertainers’ suicide.

I doubt the law could work though; and the effect would be minimal even if it works, because the problem is not the internet itself… it’s a cultural and society problem.

Internet is just a medium that pulled the final trigger; there are still other mediums for spreading rumours and slanders… what the Koreans need are to find the root cause and solve the problems once and for all.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: East Asia, Korean pop culture, Korean showbiz, Korean suicides, Obituaries, South Korea

Korean actress Choi Jin-shil commits suicide

October 2, 2008 by Yein Jee

Korean actress Choi Jin-shil was found dead in her home in Seocho, Seoul, early this morning (Oct 2). The 40-year-old star hung herself in her bathroom; her body was discovered by her mother at around 6.15am.

Picture of Korean actress Choi Jin-sil who committed suicide in October 2008

[Read more…] about Korean actress Choi Jin-shil commits suicide

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Asian pop culture, Choi Jin-sil, East Asia, Korean pop culture, Korean showbiz, Korean suicides, Obituaries, South Korea

59% of Korean teens think of suicide

September 12, 2008 by Yein Jee

Suicide issues again take headlines in South Korea for the past few days following the death of actor Ahn Jae-hwan who took his own life on Monday.

State-run Korea Youth Counseling Institute released a poll finding on Tuesday (Sept 9) indicating that six in every 10 South Korean teenagers have thought about taking their own lives at least once [via YonhapNews].

According to the survey of 4,700 middle and high school students, 58.8% of the respondents had thought of suicide; and 11.1% of the respondents attempted suicide.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) earlier said that there were 12,174 suicides representing 5% of all deaths in 2007. It’s also said that an annual average 23.6 Koreans committed suicide out of 100,000 people in the last five years, which is one of the highest levels in the world.

I almost didn’t want to believe the news report at the beginning, because the figures are a bit overwhelming… that’s like more than 30 Koreans are dying each day from suicide; the Korean government needs to treat this issue with serious urgency.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: East Asia, Korean suicides, South Korea

Korean actor Ahn Jae-hwan committed suicide

September 9, 2008 by Yein Jee

Korean actor Ahn Jae-hwan, 36, was found dead in his car on Monday (Sept 8) morning. The police has classified his death as suicide.

Picture of Korean actor Ahn Jae-hwan funeral

Early investigation suggested that he died of smo­ke in­h­al­atio­n by burning charcoal inside the car. He left a suicide note expressing his love for his wife, comedian-actress Jung Sun-hee, whom he married in November 2007.

It’s unknown if he had stated the reason(s) for his suicide in his final note, but it’s believed that he ended his life because of financial stress from business failure.

Rest in peace Ahn Jae-hwan. My condolences to his wife and family.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: East Asia, Korean showbiz, Korean suicides, Obituaries, South Korea

Teenage girl killed herself following Suju fans abuse

June 9, 2007 by Yein Jee

Korean teenager suicide from fan abuseThe reason for the suicide of 17-year-old Lee Eun-ji has caused outrage in South Korea. It’s alleged that the girl ended her life following harassments from pop group Super Junior’s fans who were unhappy after a picture of her posing with the boyband member, KangIn, was circulated online.

Lee appeared on a TV show which covered her story of losing 40kg in three months; and she took a photo with KangIn who was one of the guests. Lee’s blog was flocked with malicious messages since, and some fans gone to the extend of finding out her phone number and left abusive messages. A few fans have expressed regrets over their act since Lee’s death, but it’s a little too late.

While it’s undeniable that the fans abuse played a major part in her suicide, there’s perhaps other factors too… e.g. losing weight drastically is rarely a good thing to begin with; it’s unhealthy and could lead to depression. And there’s also the society value which overemphasised on looking slim/good etc.

Regardless, suicide is never the answer to anything. Rest in peace.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: East Asia, KangIn Kim Young-woon, Korean showbiz, Korean suicides, South Korea, Super Junior

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Yein Jee is a Malaysian traveller, food lover & self proclaimed entrepreneur. This blog is about Asian culture, lifestyle, travel, food, fun and entertainment ... Read More...

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