Sulli and other Korean stars who we tragically lost to depression

Depression has claimed yet another life in the K-pop world. Today (October 14), just four days after World Mental Health Day, South Korean singer and actress Choi Jin-ri (or Sulli as she was known) was found dead at her home in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

The 25-year-old star, who had recently made her solo debut in July, was reportedly discovered dead on the second floor of her home by her manager, who had been unable to contact her since their phone call the previous evening.

According to the police, Sulli has been battling severe depression.

In 2016, the former f(x) member was hospitalised for a wrist injury, which led to major speculation that she had slit her wrists in an attempted suicide.

The star was also a victim of cyber-bullying, which she cites as the main reason why she quit the girl group.

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Sadly, Sulli isn’t the first Korean celebrity to have taken their own life after battling depression.

A 2009 research paper by actress Park Jin-hee revealed that 40 per cent of Korean talents are considering or have considered suicide due to “unprotected privacy, malicious comments, unstable incomes and anxiety about the future”.

Read on to find out about the other Korean celebrities who tragically took their own lives and were revealed to be depressed:

JEON MI-SEON

South Korean actress Jeon Mi-seon, best known for her roles in Mother, Hide and Seek and The Moon Embracing The Sun, was found dead in an apparent suicide on Saturday, June 29. She was 48.

Jeon was found hanged in the bathroom of her hotel room in Jeonju, South Korea, after going missing for two days.

Police confirm that she had checked in for two days, and there was no suicide note.

According to China Press, she called her father at around 2am, which was about 20 minutes before taking her life.

The conversation led to many friends and relatives trying to reach her but it was already too late.

She had allegedly been receiving treatments for depression, revealed her agency, Boas Entertainment, in a public statement.

Jeon had also recently lost a family member and her mother is bedridden due to an illness, which may have affected her emotionally.

One of her final public appearances was on June 25 in Seoul, to promote her new film The King’s Letters, released in July 2019.

KIM JONG-HYUN

On December 18, 2017, the K-pop singer/songwriter of boy group SHINee committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in a private hotel room in Seoul, South Korea. He was just 27.

The singer was said to have suffered from depression.

He reportedly told his sister via text message that he had “suffered enough” and his alleged suicide note detailed his suffering with the illness and revealed that being a celebrity in South Korea was starting to take a toll on his mental health.

LEE EUN JU

Actress Lee Eun Ju committed suicide on February 22 2005.

According to her family, the actress was said to have suffered from depression and mental illnesses.

The actress was also said to have been body shamed for her role in The Scarlet Letter, where she appeared nude.

JEON TAE SOO

South Korean actress, Ha Ji Won’s brother has reportedly passed away due to his struggles with depression.

Jun Tae Soo was only 34 when he passed.

While it’s not clear if he took his own life, his agency released a statement saying that the actor has long been suffering from depression and was hoping that he would return to the entertainment industry once he’s better.

Sadly, the star was said to have passed on on January 21, 2018.

JANG JA YEON

Jang Ja Yeon was a Korean actress who stared in the popular KBS television drama series Boys Over Flowers.

The 29-year-old wrote a series of suicide letters explaining how her former agency head Kim Sung Hun had forced her to meet influential figures at parties where she was expected to provide sexual favours for some of them.

“I was called to a bar and pressured to accept a request for a sexual relationship,” she reportedly wrote.

Police said Jang’s older sister found her hanging on the banister of a staircase in their house in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province on March 7, 2009, and told police that her sister suffered from depression.

This article was first published in Women's Weekly.