[Update (May 23): I added actress Woo Seung-yeon and former president Roh Moo-hyun to the list.]
[Update (March 12): A trot singer has killed himself.]
The Korea Times reports that 26 year-old ‘Boys over Flowers’ supporting actress Jang Ja-yeon was found dead in her home last night. She hanged herself.
The police quoted her sister as saying, “She has suffered from depression, frequently staying at home alone recently.”
Jang has lived with her elder sister, since her parents were killed in a traffic accident 10 years ago, police said.
There have been at least 10 suicides by actors or musicians [update - and others in the public eye] in the last two years:
Actress Lee Eun-ju, 24, February 2005.
Samsung head Lee Kun-hee’s daughter Lee Yoon-hyung, 26, November 2005.
Actress and singer U;Nee, 25, January 2007
Actress Jeong Da-bin, 26, February 2007
‘Weight loss star’ Lee Eun-ji, 16, June 2007
Actor Ahn Jae-hwan, 36, September 2008
Actress Choi Jin-sil, 39, October 2008
Quiz show participant Jang Chae-won, 26, October 2008
Actor Kim Ji-who, 23, October 2008
Singer Lee Seo Hyun, 30, December 2008
Actor Kim Seok-gyun, 30, January 2009
Actress Jang Ja-yeon, 26, March 2009
Singer Lee Chang-yong, 38, March 2009
Actress Woo Seung-yeon, 26, April 2009
Former president Roh Moo-hyun, 62, May 2009
Needless to say, this latest suicide is nowhere near as shocking as Lee Eun-ju’s was in 2005, and is in fact seen as being part of a trend. Even more worrisome is, as Kushibo puts it, that “these public suicides of well-known figures have the disturbing effect of making the killing of oneself seem favorable and normative.”
This post by the Metropolitician is well worth re-reading; it’s disturbing to note that when he wrote it two years ago, there had been only three such suicides to be commented on.
(Photos from here and here.) More articles can be found here and here.
08/03/2009 at 9:25 pm Permalink
I wish I had some insight into this horrible trend beyond thinking it’s incredibly sad and disturbing.
And with the Korean economy still looking for the bottom, well, it could be a long 2009.
24/05/2009 at 10:20 am Permalink
It seems odd to add Noh to a list of “actors or musicians”. The list could reasonably be expanded to “Public personae”. Not only will this include Noh, but you could easily include the daughter of the president of Samsung a few years ago. The romantic circumstances behind that suicide seemed to capture the sympathy of young people in Korea.
08/06/2009 at 4:37 am Permalink
david,
Good points. I updated the post in a hurry. I’ve incorporated some of your suggestions above.