Mental Health x K-Pop
Image source: “EXO Planet.” Facebook, www.facebook.com/xoxoloversfanpage.
Written by Danielle Chan
After a month or so into the year 2020, a lot has already happened in the K-pop industry continuing from a few months ago last year. The tragic events most people know about and should have heard by now shed light on the mental health issues of K-pop artists. Idols working in the K-Pop industry could experience numerous hardships, ranging from hate from netizens, overworking and family issues to dealing with their own mental health issues. Among these celebrities, a few well known tragic losses that happened in 2019 involved Sulli, Goo Hara and Cha In Ha.
After a month or so into the year 2020, a lot has already happened in the K-pop industry continuing from a few months ago last year. The tragic events most people know about and should have heard by now shed light on the mental health issues of K-pop artists. Idols working in the K-Pop industry could experience numerous hardships, ranging from hate from netizens, overworking and family issues to dealing with their own mental health issues. Among these celebrities, a few well known tragic losses that happened in 2019 involved Sulli, Goo Hara and Cha In Ha.
Sulli’s case which took place on October 14th last year was a shock to everybody. A bit of general background information for those who aren’t familiar with Sulli: her real name is Choi Jin-ri, and she was found dead last year in her home due to alleged suicide. Prior to becoming a singer, Sulli started her career in 2005 as a young 11-year-old actress starring in a Korean historical drama. Later on, she joined a Korean entertainment company—SM Entertainment—through a successful audition and made her debut in 2009 as a member of the K-Pop girl group f(x). After taking a one-year-long hiatus in 2014 to step back and withdraw from the malicious hate that originated from fabricated rumours spreading around the internet, Sulli officially left f(x) in 2015 and proceeded to shift focus to acting.
In the years before and primarily after Sulli left the group, she continually suffered from tremendous hate and criticism due to her posts on social media, which were mostly on Instagram. She acted out of the norm, expressing her struggles with mental health in social media posts, on live streams and even on live television broadcasts to the public. Some of her posts associated with her dating life with the singer Choiza of Dynamic Duo received major backlash from the public. People criticized her for being excessively open about her romantic life. There were times when she would upload pictures of herself braless underneath a piece of clothing, and hate would flood in from the comment sections of social media platforms. Despite the hate, she never stopped expressing herself in a bold way, having an indifferent attitude against the typical Korean standards. She was a free-spoken K-Pop idol who broke boundaries, showing support for feminism and politically related issues. In addition to the never-ending hateful messages that she got, she also had to deal with her personal troubles which included struggles with panic disorders and social phobia. Life wasn’t easy for Sulli, having to deal with her mental illnesses concurrently with all the toxic communities relentlessly coming at her. All of this presumably contributed and pushed Sulli to eventually taking her own life.
Another case of death was with Goo Hara, which happened just a month after her fellow idol and close friend Sulli’s tragic passing. In May of 2019, Goo Hara had already attempted suicide in her apartment but was taken to the hospital immediately. After 6 months following her suicide attempt, she took her own life in her home with the police finding a suicide note as well.
Goo Hara was a former member of the K-Pop girl group Kara that made their debut in 2008. Since then, Goo Hara became a successful star in the K-Pop industry and would appear on variety shows and live television as any other K-Pop artist would. Similar to what Sulli had to go through, Goo Hara defended herself against harsh comments from netizens on social media platforms and spoke up for herself at all times. She had admitted on a Korean reality show that she had teeth alignment surgery and minor facial cosmetic surgery to define her double eyelids, and netizens made criticisms on her actions as such. When she dated her hairdresser boyfriend Choi Jong-bum in 2018, headlines were made as they got into a feud that would eventually escalate to be invested at the court. Both sides had made claims, and her boyfriend claimed to have been assaulted by Goo, while she accused him of threatening to release a sex video of her that was taken without consent. Goo Hara’s boyfriend was soon sentenced for physical assault, property damage, threats and unnecessary force but was not convicted of sexual assault relating to the illegal sex footage. Goo Hara then immensely suffered from spreading rumours and cruel public criticism on the internet in spite of being the victim, which then led to her attempted suicide and subsequently her death in the same year.
Cha In Ha, who was a Korean actor before death, was found dead in his apartment in less than two weeks after the death of Goo Hara. He was an alternative case, as the reason for his death was unknown and kept private by his entertainment company—Fantagio—who did not specify why he passed away in the official statement released. Cha In Ha, whose real name is Lee Jae-ho, was also a member of the acting and singing group Surprise U who debuted in 2017, the same year in which he officially started his acting career and slowly started to gain fame. It was a very unfortunate and unexpected occurrence.
The three incidents that happened back-to-back from October to November and then to December 2019 were heartbreaking news to the general public. These K-Pop idols were so young, Goo Hara being 28, Cha In Ha being 27 and Sulli being only 25. Both Sulli and Goo Hara had to face the hateful world as idol figures whose actions were constantly watched under the public eye. As for Cha In Ha, his reasons for death aren’t known and are best not to be speculated. Speaking from a personal perspective as somebody who enjoys K-Pop and is a K-Pop “stan”, I believe we should all learn and understand how hate can affect a person tremendously and potentially lead to unchangeable consequences such as taking one’s life. Many K-Pop idols start their trainee life from as young an age as 9 to 12, basically spending their childhood training to become the “perfect” celebrities that we see today. The hardships they endured for the duration of their trainee lives cannot be comprehended by ones who have never experienced the same (and the same applies to any other profession), so some people should quit being so quick to judge a K-Pop idol’s smallest actions whether it’s right or wrong. The increasing news of K-Pop idols (eg. Mina from TWICE, Haseul from LOONA and Kang Daniel) taking temporary breaks from promotions due to health issues ,which for instance could have resulted from packed schedules, lack of sleep and physical problems from overtraining, continue to raise awareness as to the mental and physical health of artists working in the K-Pop industry.
In the years before and primarily after Sulli left the group, she continually suffered from tremendous hate and criticism due to her posts on social media, which were mostly on Instagram. She acted out of the norm, expressing her struggles with mental health in social media posts, on live streams and even on live television broadcasts to the public. Some of her posts associated with her dating life with the singer Choiza of Dynamic Duo received major backlash from the public. People criticized her for being excessively open about her romantic life. There were times when she would upload pictures of herself braless underneath a piece of clothing, and hate would flood in from the comment sections of social media platforms. Despite the hate, she never stopped expressing herself in a bold way, having an indifferent attitude against the typical Korean standards. She was a free-spoken K-Pop idol who broke boundaries, showing support for feminism and politically related issues. In addition to the never-ending hateful messages that she got, she also had to deal with her personal troubles which included struggles with panic disorders and social phobia. Life wasn’t easy for Sulli, having to deal with her mental illnesses concurrently with all the toxic communities relentlessly coming at her. All of this presumably contributed and pushed Sulli to eventually taking her own life.
Another case of death was with Goo Hara, which happened just a month after her fellow idol and close friend Sulli’s tragic passing. In May of 2019, Goo Hara had already attempted suicide in her apartment but was taken to the hospital immediately. After 6 months following her suicide attempt, she took her own life in her home with the police finding a suicide note as well.
Goo Hara was a former member of the K-Pop girl group Kara that made their debut in 2008. Since then, Goo Hara became a successful star in the K-Pop industry and would appear on variety shows and live television as any other K-Pop artist would. Similar to what Sulli had to go through, Goo Hara defended herself against harsh comments from netizens on social media platforms and spoke up for herself at all times. She had admitted on a Korean reality show that she had teeth alignment surgery and minor facial cosmetic surgery to define her double eyelids, and netizens made criticisms on her actions as such. When she dated her hairdresser boyfriend Choi Jong-bum in 2018, headlines were made as they got into a feud that would eventually escalate to be invested at the court. Both sides had made claims, and her boyfriend claimed to have been assaulted by Goo, while she accused him of threatening to release a sex video of her that was taken without consent. Goo Hara’s boyfriend was soon sentenced for physical assault, property damage, threats and unnecessary force but was not convicted of sexual assault relating to the illegal sex footage. Goo Hara then immensely suffered from spreading rumours and cruel public criticism on the internet in spite of being the victim, which then led to her attempted suicide and subsequently her death in the same year.
Cha In Ha, who was a Korean actor before death, was found dead in his apartment in less than two weeks after the death of Goo Hara. He was an alternative case, as the reason for his death was unknown and kept private by his entertainment company—Fantagio—who did not specify why he passed away in the official statement released. Cha In Ha, whose real name is Lee Jae-ho, was also a member of the acting and singing group Surprise U who debuted in 2017, the same year in which he officially started his acting career and slowly started to gain fame. It was a very unfortunate and unexpected occurrence.
The three incidents that happened back-to-back from October to November and then to December 2019 were heartbreaking news to the general public. These K-Pop idols were so young, Goo Hara being 28, Cha In Ha being 27 and Sulli being only 25. Both Sulli and Goo Hara had to face the hateful world as idol figures whose actions were constantly watched under the public eye. As for Cha In Ha, his reasons for death aren’t known and are best not to be speculated. Speaking from a personal perspective as somebody who enjoys K-Pop and is a K-Pop “stan”, I believe we should all learn and understand how hate can affect a person tremendously and potentially lead to unchangeable consequences such as taking one’s life. Many K-Pop idols start their trainee life from as young an age as 9 to 12, basically spending their childhood training to become the “perfect” celebrities that we see today. The hardships they endured for the duration of their trainee lives cannot be comprehended by ones who have never experienced the same (and the same applies to any other profession), so some people should quit being so quick to judge a K-Pop idol’s smallest actions whether it’s right or wrong. The increasing news of K-Pop idols (eg. Mina from TWICE, Haseul from LOONA and Kang Daniel) taking temporary breaks from promotions due to health issues ,which for instance could have resulted from packed schedules, lack of sleep and physical problems from overtraining, continue to raise awareness as to the mental and physical health of artists working in the K-Pop industry.
Works cited
- Benjamin, Jeff. “Sulli Was an Outspoken K-Pop Star in an Industry That Would've Preferred She Stayed Quiet.” Billboard, 24 Nov. 2019, www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8532906/sulli-legacy-memorial-outspoken-kpop-star.
- “What Leads to K-Pop Idols' Deaths.” Koreatimes, 16 Oct. 2019, www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2019/10/732_277216.html.“How Sulli Broke K-Pop's Clean-Cut Conventions.” South China Morning Post, 15 Oct. 2019, www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3032937/how-sulli-smashed-k-pops-clean-cut-facade-speaking-out.
- “They Grew up in the K-Pop Limelight. Is It to Blame for Their Deaths?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2019, www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-12-06/sulli-goo-hara-kpop-death.
- Kelly, Emma. “No Foul Play Suspected in Goo Hara's Death as Police Find 'Handwritten Note'.” Metro, Metro.co.uk, 25 Nov. 2019, metro.co.uk/2019/11/25/no-foul-play-suspected-goo-haras-death-police-find-handwritten-note-scene-11213268/.
- “History of Goo Hara in Timeline - Popular Timelines.” Populartimelines.com, populartimelines.com/timeline/Goo-Hara.
- Aleem, Zeeshan. “K-Pop Star Goo Hara Has Died at Age 28.” Vox, Vox, 24 Nov. 2019, www.vox.com/2019/11/24/20980363/k-pop-star-goo-hara.
- Kuschmider, Rebekah. “RIP Cha In Ha - Korean Actor Dead At 27.” YourTango, 5 Dec. 2019, www.yourtango.com/2019330156/how-did-cha-ha-die-new-details-death-korean-actor-27.