FIQWS 10103-CP8 

 Michael 

 November 21, 2019 

 By Afia Osei Boahen 

What are the social and physical reasons that Artistes in the Entertainment Industry in South Korea commit suicide? 

I have liked South Korea entertainment industry since I was in Ghana. I have watched multiple Korean dramas and continue to watch because the stories that they portray may not be reality, yet it offers moral advice and it also helps to relieve stress with its portrayal of comedy. They also have beautiful and amazing original soundtracks (ost) which was my introduction to Korean music. I have been living in my own fantasy world just as how the dramas are illustrated. People only see the success of a person not the hard work, that is, the blood and sweat it took him or her to reach where they are today, the same goes for me. I never saw beyond the success of the artistes until recently as I watched you tube videos and read articles about Korean idols, actors/actresses and their label companies. South Korea entertainment is known to be one of the strictest entertainment industries in the world, just as it is also known as one of the most talented in the entertainment industry globally. The singers/musicians are known in their country as idols. An idol is an object of extreme devotion or something or someone ideal. Idols in Korean pop are trained to be perfection since they were young (in their teenage years or even less sometimes). They spend twelve (12) hours per day training before, as trainees for several years and after they debut, as professional performers and they have harsh/tight schedules, which leaves them sleep deprived and hungry due to not eating properly. They are increasingly working under extreme pressure and stress as the level of competition in the entertainment industry rises. As they continue to perform, become famous and gained more fans, they pay the price of having their privacy invaded upon. They cannot go anywhere without being recognized, so spending a little time or even a day as a normal or an ordinary person is out of the question for them. The artistes are generally expected to be respectful and reserved, that is not talking about politics and being discreet about their private matters. Since, they are referred to as idols, their fans and fan bases like VIPS, ARMY, MONBEBE, BLINKS, IGOT7 and so many more are extremely devoted to them, expecting perfection from them, because to the fans, their idols could do no wrong in their eyes, which makes them feel pressured to portray this perfect image to the general public. When they say or do something that makes the fans feel disappointed or they disapprove of, they feel guilty and burden. They are always alert in every situation. They always have to think twice when they are about to speak and because of this expectation of perfection from their fans, wherever they are, it is at the back of their mind that they need to act perfect and due to this, they have to hide their real emotions like sadness and fatigue and only smile and show positive attitude towards their fans. A teenage member of one of the South Korean boy bands, Kevin Woo (California born singer) says “In training, (the record labels) take a lot of privacy from you. They take your phone away when you debut. You can’t date, which was very shocking for me. They want trainees to have a certain figure, so you’re dieting and there’s pressure to get plastic surgery”. The need to seem that they are always improving in all that they do, whether in sports like archery, in appearance (the way they dress, how their body physique is supposed to meet an ideal image of flat stomach and having six packs through diets, sometimes they starve themselves and even have cosmetic surgery) in stage performance or on variety shows. Some artistes, mostly idols have a no dating contract policy as they seem to belong to the general public. An article by Jung Hae myoung on scmp.com talks mental illness of idols. Taemin from the boyband Shinee states that he feels the pressure to meet the expectations of his fans. “I have to self-manage because there is no privacy in my life and I always need to be careful not to get into any trouble,  which is tough”. 

Just as the fans are consumed by love, adoration and devotion to their idols, some of them can also be very bitter and hateful both online and offline. Some fans treat the artistes as objects rather than people thinking they are their properties and therefore belongs to them. Many artistes have felt the hatred and the pressure of being in the limelight and being abused verbally (through the hailing of insults and trolling) by some fans, not only at them but at their families also after inciting public anger due to a scandal they were involved in like dying of hair, taking braless pictures, getting drunk and even dating, this led to many relationships being broken and petitions for the artistes involved to be thrown out of his or her label company, and some actually get fired like Kim Hyun-ah and E’ Dawn. The insults some fans hail at them hurts them because they are also human beings just like them and they have emotions like them. They are also attacked when in public spaces like in the airport. They are pulled by their hair, grabbed aggressively and even things have been thrown at them as well as receiving death threats. In the public and on Instagram they seem fine, fun and happy but that is not the reality of it. There is a saying that “appearance is deceptive” and that is true in the Korean music industry and the film industry. They only feel emptiness and put up pretense in front of people. This lead them to take drastic decisions like kill themselves because they believe that it can end the agony and misery that they are experiencing at the moment like idol turned Actress Sulli who died in October of this year (2019) from what seems apparently from suicide. 

The insults and trolling of the artistes online (Cyberbully) leads to depression and anxiety attacks. Depression comes about due to extreme sadness and makes you lose interest in everything, and anxiety comes as a result of feeling overwhelmed, worry, stress and fear. The harmful comments and criticism that some fans say to artistes are what leads them to lose interest in life and also fear for their lives. It makes them feel insecure in their appearance and the way that they lead their own lives. Some of these fans may seem to think that their comments are harmless or jokes for fun but in reality, it actually hurts the recipients (the artistes). “Many celebrities who make their debut at young ages suffer from depression and anxiety as they live in the public eye. They can become vulnerable if they get too much attention, “ says  Park Jong-seok, head doctor at Yonsei Bom Psychiatry in Seoul. Due to the invasion of privacy that comes with fame, the artistes are scared of people and going out because fear of people around them constantly taking pictures of them wherever they go, they cannot live a comfortable private life and one bad action/move can destroy their reputation. Actress Jeong Da-bin who died in 2007 informed the police that she felt depressed due to people attacking her looks online and due to unemployment. Actress turned singer U;Nee also hanged herself the same year after becoming depressed by online criticism, especially over her sexy style of dressing.   

Some artistes like Jang Ja-yeon also commit suicide because they have been forced to perform degrading actions like sexual favors to so-called sponsors who help people with talent get popular television series and movie/film roles. That kind of act forced upon someone can make them feel dirty, insecure, traumatized and hurt, and even if they dreams are coming true, they would not feel happy or satisfied thinking of all the disgusting things they had to endure and all that would be left is emptiness and unhappiness.  

Most of the artistes around the world have all experience these problems one way or the other, being victims of people now called haters who anonymously send mean tweets/comments without realizing how it impacts the one behind the screen. Most of us, if not all have been guilty of sending a hurtful comment or text to someone that we know, sometimes thinking of it as a harmless joke without realizing the harmful impact it has on them. Most of the idols were very young when they entered the entertainment industry as trainees and because of that they did not have the normal/ordinary life of playing with their peers and being raised by their parents. “They go through adolescence without experiencing genuine friendships and stability with their peers”, says Park Jong-seok, head doctor at Yonsei Bom Psychiatry in Seoul.  At the time that they are trainees, they are expected to demonstrate total obedience to their agencies. I believe that since they have long working hours, they do not have time to reflect on their lives and a moment to breathe unless they take a break from the entertainment industry. Rumors being spread about oneself is one of the most harmful things that could be done to a person. Due to rumors, a person can be viewed in a way that is not far from his or her personality and generally everyone has heard something untrue about themselves before being spread around. For the artistes in the entertainment that would tarnish their image and even end the careers that they put all their effort and time in, and because of that they are afraid to seek help for their mental illness, again keeping up the image of perfection. The need to be perfect in the eyes of their fans and also some of the fan’s verbal brutality, I believe is the reason that they fell into the temptation of ending their lives. Honestly, I believe that the gate to Heaven is not through people’s mouth. People are temporary, they change according to the way that they view from different perspectives yet that still does not make their insults, threats and physical abuse any less hurtful. People I believe should be more sympathetic to people even people (artistes) you think are well off (in terms of money and materialistic things) because they also have their own burdens that they carry. In reality, almost everyone has a burden or an issue that they are dealing with, being respectful and tolerance of people around you is a good way to show support, which may be indirectly or unconsciously even when you do not agree with their actions or lifestyle. There is always going to be a good/polite way of correcting people’s actions, lifestyle or how they speak.