Just as most of Korean pop fans have, I’ve read articles about the many suicides of Korean celebrities. Prompted by the recent death of Chae Dong Ha, I decided to gather past articles and do some research. My intent is not to showcase my opinion but to inform.

The celebrities who have taken their own lives are Lee Eun-ju, U;Nee, Jeong Da-bin, Ahn Jae-hwan, Choi Jin-sil, Choi Jin-young, Park Yong-ha, Park Jung Min, Park Hye Sang, Lee Hye Rim, Jang Ja-yeon, and recently Daul Kim, Kim Yuri, Song Ji-seon and Chae Dong Ha.

I’ve read comments on numerous blogs asking, “Why do Koreans like to kill themselves?”

The pressure of celebrity life is most likely to have a huge impact. An U.S. Marie Claire writer Abigail Haworth wrote “South Korea’s Scary Fame Game” (April 2010) in response to Daul Kim’s death. She describes the dark side of Korean entertainment and mentions the powerful management agencies, slave contracts, lack of personal freedom, packed schedules, and the sad story of Jang Ja-Yeon. Other reasons may be financial difficulties (such as in the case of Park Jung Min, Ahn Jae-hwan, and the country’s past president) and sexual exploitation. However, sexual favours is a whole other subject and I especially won’t talk more about it with the recent controversy of Jang Ja-Yeon’s letters. Anyway, I assume that most of you have heard of these reasons before.

Then you realize that the problem we’re talking about concerns the whole country, not just South Korean celebrities. Just twenty years ago South Korea had one of the lowest rates; they skyrocketed to eleventh highest in the world. Suicide is the highest cause of death among those in their twenties and thirties in South Korea. In 2007, the highest suicide rate among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In a survey of 69,754 middle and high school students, eight percent of female teenagers have attempted to kill themselves, and thirty percent considered suicide. Over five percent of male teenagers have attempted and over sixteen percent contemplated. Of course, statistics can be skewed, but they still point out the significance of suicide in Korea.

There are less-physical reasons for suicide, such as the culture’s mentality and expectations of being normal and sane. Compared to the Western World, East Asians typically favour the group over the individual. To maintain group harmony, they overemphasize conventional behaviour and suppress extreme emotions.

Choi Jin-sil, Lee Hye Rim, Daul Kim, Chae Dong Ha. They all suffered from depression. Daul Kim wrote in a blog that she was “mad depressed and overworked,” and “the more i gain the more lonely it is … i know i’m like a ghost i have nothing but myself.” For actress Park Jin-hee’s Masters degree paper “Studies on Depression and Suicidal Urges Among Actors,” she interviewed 260 actors last year with ranging incomes. According to her study, forty percent have been suffering from depression and have had suicidal urges from time to time. Some of us may not understand how someone can give up and end their lives so effortlessly and easily, but we must understand that the situation is much harder for someone who suffers from depression. Park’s study hints at the high numbers of depressed actors; the whole concept of individualism vs collectivism explains the lack of professional help. It is terrible that those suffering cannot receive medication or help as easily as those in the Western World, even when the situation is glaringly obvious as in Daul Kim’s case. It is looked down upon seeking psychiatric help, which is usually kept a secret. Families hide their members’ problems to be perceived “normal.” This really hits home for celebrities, who depend heavily upon the opinions of others.

If you have the time, you can read “The Cultural Impact on Depression Expression and Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Help: A Comparative Study of Americans and South Koreans” conducted by Sung-Kyung Yo. She explains the cultural differences and finds a correlation between ethnicity and attitudes towards seeking professional help (American college students are more positive than Korean college students). I did not write about this, but Phillip Hartman’s opinion piece touches base on the high suicide rates among Asian women, which I find applicable to Choi Jin-sil (a single mother who divorced her abusive husband and was sued by her modeling company for damaging their reputation).

Behind the glitz and glamour, behind the tiring hard work celebrities put into their career, even behind the pressure of the entertainment industry is something that can further explain the generalization that “Koreans like to commit suicide.”

Other Sources
OmonaTheyDidn’t: 1, 2
Korea Times: 1, 2