Another singer dies: The imperfect world surrounding the ‘perfect idols’ of K-pop

K-pop star Haesoo has reportedly died by suicide. The 29-year-old trot singer was found dead by the police on 12 May, reported Naver. This is the second death of a K-pop star to hit the South Korean entertainment industry in less than a month. In mid-April, famous K-pop star Moonbin’s death had left fans shocked globally. The 25-year-old member of the boy band Astro appeared to “have taken his own life", as per the police. These tragic incidents have once again put the spotlight on the dark side of the K-pop world and the Korean entertainment industry. Series of cases 26-year-old actor Jung Chae-yull was found dead in her home on 11 April. Another actor Yoo Joo-eun died last year at the age of 27. Sulli, a former member of girl group f(x), passed away in October 2019. The 25-year-old had faced cyberbullying throughout her career. A month later, her close friend and a K-pop star, 28-year-old Goo Hara, was found dead at home. In a rare admission for a K-pop star, Goo had previously revealed in a video that she was suffering from depression. [caption id=“attachment_12606152” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In April, famous K-pop star Moonbin’s death had shocked his fans globally. AFP File Photo[/caption] In December 2017, the lead singer of the boy band Shinee, Kim Jong-hyun, died in a suspected suicide from carbon monoxide poisoning. In a note shared a day before his death, the 27-year-old had said he felt “broken from inside”. “The depression that gnawed on me slowly has finally engulfed me entirely,” Kim wrote, adding he “couldn’t defeat it anymore”, reported The Guardian.  The heavy cost of fame According to experts, a variety of factors contribute to higher pressure on young entertainers in South Korea than pop stars of other countries. This includes presenting a perfect image in public, a stringent training schedule and a culture of online bullying, noted Variety magazine. K-pop artist Amber Liu opened up about the intense industry pressure in 2020. She told CBS Mornings, “If you aren’t under a certain weight, you can definitely get cut”. “You’re told what to do, what to say, what to think.” As per CNN, a K-pop star works for an average of 16 hours or so a day, doing everything from dance practices and singing lessons to language classes and camera training.

K-pop artists have to undergo a rigorous training period, even preparing for 10 years or more sometimes before they can make their debut.

There is also extreme competition in the industry for K-pop stars or “idols” as they are called. “The control from celebrities’ agencies and fan culture are two main contributors to the massive stress Korean stars face,” Rob Schwartz, an Asia correspondent for Billboard Magazine, told BBC. South Korea has “fandoms” or organised groups of admirers who spend time and money to prop up their favourite stars and target their opponents, reported Daily Mail. The stars, in return, have to maintain their perfectly crafted image.

In South Korea’s conservative society, scrutiny of entertainers starts once they debut, with their every move being closely watched by everyone, especially the fans. As per Daily Mail, drug use or drunken driving can end careers in the industry. “Korea has a very strict moral standard for celebrities compared to other countries,” Korean pop culture critic Ha Jae-kun told BBC. “If a star behaves only a little different from what’s perceived ‘decent’, the public would attack them. And it’s hard for a star to ignore this kind of assault because of the high social pressure from strong collectivism.” “Koreans have a strict moral code for their celebrities,” Jeeheng Lee, a culture expert at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, was quoted as saying by Variety. “Demonising the K-pop industry alone doesn’t solve the problem. Sulli and Hara suffered more from misogynistic attacks than from K-pop fans.” As The Diplomat said in December 2022, while the Korean Wave overtakes the world, “mistreatment, suicide, slave labour contracts, gruelling training schedules, ‘no dating’ clauses, sexual assault, and sexualisation of minors by K-pop agencies cannot go unnoticed”. ALSO READ: How toilet paper in Japan is helping suicidal youth Mental health stigma South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the developed world, as per Bloomberg. BBC noted that suicide cases among people in their 20s are increasing in the Asian country. While the stigma around mental health is not limited to South Korea, the added pressure from the country’s entertainment industry has made matters worse for its young celebrities. [caption id=“attachment_12606162” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The toxic fan culture in South Korea also adds to the pressure on K-pop stars. Reuters (Representational Image)[/caption] Royce Lee, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Chicago, told Variety in 2019: “All cultures have a stigma against mental illness. It’s not uniquely Korean”. “But when talking about celebrities, the intersection of culture and psychology becomes very important. The idea that one must please everybody is both a very Korean idea and a very common problem with fame. So it is a double whammy.” According to Paik Jong-woo, a psychiatrist and the director of the Korea Suicide Prevention Center, artists are hesitant to approach mental health professionals due to “fear of public shame” and their hectic schedules, CNN reported in 2019. Speaking to CBS This Morning, Liu, who was a former bandmate of Sulli, talked about the stigma against mental illnesses in the country. “When (people) hear you’re getting help they’re like, ‘What? Why are you getting help? That’s weird’,” she said in 2020. “That stigma against mental health is just so strong.” As per reports, while several agencies have started therapy sessions for trainees and stars, the problem of stigmatisation continues to persist. If you are also someone living with mental health issues, just remember: It’s Okay to Not Be Okay. With inputs from agencies (A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here. Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022-27546669) Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.