ID :
22335
Thu, 10/02/2008 - 13:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22335
The shortlink copeid
Top actress' death shocks nation, sparks fears of copycat suicides
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- The death of South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil, whose cheerful demeanor and versatile talents made her a household name, dealt a dispiriting blow to the nation as it reeled from the loss of another beloved entertainer amid fears over a chilling suicide trend.
Choi, 40, was found dead by her family in her southern Seoul home early Thursday
morning, with an elastic band around her neck tied to a shower stall, police
said.
Her apparent suicide shocked the nation, coming barely a month after actor Ahn
Jae-hwan took his own life. Rumors spread on the Internet had blamed Ahn's
suicide on Choi.
Ahn, the husband of popular comedian Jung Sun-hee, was found dead inside a rented
minivan with charred briquettes and bottles of liquor in early September. He was
reportedly under pressure by loan sharks to pay his debts.
Rumors circulated on the Web that Choi, a close friend of Jung, had lent a large
sum of money to Ahn as his business faltered. The actress sought a police probe
into the source of the rumors, calling them groundless.
Police arrested a securities company employee this week on allegations of
defamation.
"Jin-sil suffered a lot from the loan rumor," said Seo Sang-wook, chief of Choi's
agency SBM Entertainment.
The previous day, the actress came to a studio to shoot a commercial, but the
shoot was canceled halfway through, with Choi saying she didn't feel well,
according to Choi's co-star Sohn Hyun-joo from the drama series "What Husband And
Wife Live By."
A slew of celebrity suicides have gripped the nation in recent years, often
prompting copycat suicides by their colleagues and ordinary people. Experts fear
the shock of Choi's death will be particularly poignant, given the weight of her
presence in Korea's entertainment industry.
After Ahn's suicide, at least three people in their 30s killed themselves by
inhaling toxic gas from burning briquettes in closed places.
Experts say the so-called Werther effect, named after the protagonist in Goethe's
"The Sorrows of Young Werther," could spread among celebrities as well, as stars
are said to be more vulnerable to malicious rumors.
Famous singer and sex icon Yuni took her own life last year after rumors spread
that she had undergone plastic surgery. Barely a month later, Jeong Da-bin, the
star of the hit romantic comedy "Cat on the Roof" committed suicide, leaving a
note saying: "I'm confused and I feel like I'm going to die...I have lost my
identity."
Movie actress Lee Eun-joo, who played a tormented heroine in "Scarlet Letter,"
also killed herself in 2005.
The National Statistical Office says there were 12,174 suicides last year,
representing 5 percent of all deaths, a 14 percent jump from a year earlier. The
figure is one of the highest in the world when measured against Korea's
population of 48 million, it said.
"There could be a variety of factors that drove Choi's death," said Hong Jin-pyo,
a psychiatrist at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. "She might have suffered
tremendous stress, with every move she makes drawing public attention."
Choi is said to have be treated for depression after her ugly divorce from pro
baseball player Cho Sung-min in 2004.
Min Seong-gil, a psychiatrist at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital, said
Choi's death may trigger a Werther effect.
"For ordinary individuals, if a celebrity they know encounters problems and
commits suicide, they come to think that they are incapable of solving their own
problems and make the same decision," he said.
A recent poll pointed to the seriousness of the suicide issue among Korean youth.
The survey of 4,700 middle and high school students, taken by the state-run Korea
Youth Counseling Institute, showed that nearly six out of every 10 Korean
teenagers have thought about taking their own life at some point.
According to the findings, teenagers mostly felt suicidal urges when they
experienced conflicts with parents or other family members, felt deprived of
hope, had trouble with friends or if people close to them took their own lives.
Choi, 40, was found dead by her family in her southern Seoul home early Thursday
morning, with an elastic band around her neck tied to a shower stall, police
said.
Her apparent suicide shocked the nation, coming barely a month after actor Ahn
Jae-hwan took his own life. Rumors spread on the Internet had blamed Ahn's
suicide on Choi.
Ahn, the husband of popular comedian Jung Sun-hee, was found dead inside a rented
minivan with charred briquettes and bottles of liquor in early September. He was
reportedly under pressure by loan sharks to pay his debts.
Rumors circulated on the Web that Choi, a close friend of Jung, had lent a large
sum of money to Ahn as his business faltered. The actress sought a police probe
into the source of the rumors, calling them groundless.
Police arrested a securities company employee this week on allegations of
defamation.
"Jin-sil suffered a lot from the loan rumor," said Seo Sang-wook, chief of Choi's
agency SBM Entertainment.
The previous day, the actress came to a studio to shoot a commercial, but the
shoot was canceled halfway through, with Choi saying she didn't feel well,
according to Choi's co-star Sohn Hyun-joo from the drama series "What Husband And
Wife Live By."
A slew of celebrity suicides have gripped the nation in recent years, often
prompting copycat suicides by their colleagues and ordinary people. Experts fear
the shock of Choi's death will be particularly poignant, given the weight of her
presence in Korea's entertainment industry.
After Ahn's suicide, at least three people in their 30s killed themselves by
inhaling toxic gas from burning briquettes in closed places.
Experts say the so-called Werther effect, named after the protagonist in Goethe's
"The Sorrows of Young Werther," could spread among celebrities as well, as stars
are said to be more vulnerable to malicious rumors.
Famous singer and sex icon Yuni took her own life last year after rumors spread
that she had undergone plastic surgery. Barely a month later, Jeong Da-bin, the
star of the hit romantic comedy "Cat on the Roof" committed suicide, leaving a
note saying: "I'm confused and I feel like I'm going to die...I have lost my
identity."
Movie actress Lee Eun-joo, who played a tormented heroine in "Scarlet Letter,"
also killed herself in 2005.
The National Statistical Office says there were 12,174 suicides last year,
representing 5 percent of all deaths, a 14 percent jump from a year earlier. The
figure is one of the highest in the world when measured against Korea's
population of 48 million, it said.
"There could be a variety of factors that drove Choi's death," said Hong Jin-pyo,
a psychiatrist at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. "She might have suffered
tremendous stress, with every move she makes drawing public attention."
Choi is said to have be treated for depression after her ugly divorce from pro
baseball player Cho Sung-min in 2004.
Min Seong-gil, a psychiatrist at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital, said
Choi's death may trigger a Werther effect.
"For ordinary individuals, if a celebrity they know encounters problems and
commits suicide, they come to think that they are incapable of solving their own
problems and make the same decision," he said.
A recent poll pointed to the seriousness of the suicide issue among Korean youth.
The survey of 4,700 middle and high school students, taken by the state-run Korea
Youth Counseling Institute, showed that nearly six out of every 10 Korean
teenagers have thought about taking their own life at some point.
According to the findings, teenagers mostly felt suicidal urges when they
experienced conflicts with parents or other family members, felt deprived of
hope, had trouble with friends or if people close to them took their own lives.
