K-pop is one of the biggest culture exports from Korea. It is a huge industry in Korea and many teenagers in Korea and other countries have the dream of becoming a K-pop star. However, the candy-colored sheen coats a sinister underbelly with ugly truths about K-pop. Sulli was a famous k-pop star in Korea who recently committed suicide. The death of Sulli turned the spotlight on the darkest corners of the highly pressurized industry. Sulli was a former member of the group f(x). She had spoken publicly about her mental health problems. Authorities said she was suffering from severe depression and are investigating suicide as a possible cause of death. Sulli had been targeted by online abusers, often from anonymous male fans enraged because Sulli refused to conform to social norms. Her “crimes” had included live-streaming a drinking session with friends and her decision not to wear a bra in public. She expressed her views about what was intrinsically wrong in our society about how female stars are supposed to behave. She broke other taboos including hosting a TV show about how online abuse had contributed to her anxiety disorder and social phobia, in a country with a strong cultural resistance to discussing mental illness.
Almost all k-pop stars are put through a gruesome training schedule as they pass along the procedure of debuting in new girl and boy bands. Younger stars and trainees are subjected to strict controls over their private lives, including bans on dating, restrictions on mobile phone use and expectation that they will be willing to sacrifice their health to achieve the desired image set by the company.
Sulli was 11 when she began her career as an actor, before making her K-pop debut in 2009 for f(x), who quickly became one of the country’s most popular girl-bands.
Many k-pop stars who debuted at young ages suffer from depression and anxiety because they go through adolescence without experiencing genuine friendships and stability with peer groups.
A number of k-pop stars and Korean actors/actresses have killed themselves in the last decade. Jang Ja-yeon took her own life in 2009, leaving a seven-page letter in which she claimed she had been the victim of sexual abuse and exploitation by influential politicians, business and newspaper executives, and industry figures.
The K-pop star Jonghyun, whose real name was Kim Jong-hyun, killed himself in December 2017; the singer and actor Goo Hara, once part of the girl band Kara, apologized to fans after being found unconscious at her home earlier this year.
Sulli’s death has intensified demands for government action against bullying on popular internet portals where users are able to comment anonymously.
Freedom of expression is a vital value in a democratic society, but insulting and hurting someone else’s dignity is beyond that limit. I believe that there should be harsher penalties for those who violate that law.
Comments
I was so shocked when i read the news about Sulli's death. f(x) was my favorite idol group when i was in middle school, and i started learning Jazz dance because I loved their dances, such as "Hot Summer" and "NU ABO". These were my favorite songs. I felt so sad. Also, i hope Korean society could do something to prevent such things from continuing to happen.
This post did a really good job of highlighting the darker side of K-pop and the entertainment industry. Even with notable success, there are innumerable obstacles (such as internet harassers and unrealistic expectations) that can be so bad sometimes that they force someone to take their life. The presentations in class today on K-pop and mental health in South Korea shed light on this difficult and not widely acknwoledged issue.
This was a really cool post to read about! I actually did my research presentation on Korean music and Korean hip hop. I think you did a great job talking about the exportation of Korean hip hop to America. We see this in BTS, a very popular boy band group from Korea that is gaining traction all over the world. I think your research about the different cyber bullying in Kpop stars was something that surprised me and makes me feel like Korea still has many steps to go.
Great post Lanqin! When I heard about each of these deaths, it saddened me greatly. It's also sad to say that Goo Hara is also now dead after she survived her last attempt, I didn't imagine that she could not hold on any longer. It seems like the deaths are increasing more rapidly now and I think it's something that should be addressed more in Korea.