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Celebrity suicide

Singer and actor Choi Jin-young committed suicide Monday. Choi, 39, was better known as the younger brother of actress Choi Jin-sil who killed herself in 2008. Their suicides, which came in the space of a year and a half, shocked not only their fans but the whole nation, which has been established a reputation as one of the world's most suicide-prone countries.

Jin-sil, who had reigned in the movie and TV world for nearly a decade, left two children when she died at the age of 40. Jin-young used to tell his friends he would take good care of the two little nephews until they grow up. In a recent media interview, the tender-hearted man said he wanted to be rich and famous and to show the children under his care how hard their uncle worked to clinch success in life. He gave up on all this when he hanged himself in the attic of his home.

We can guess that the suicide of his famous sister, who helped him rise in the entertainment world, must have seriously affected Jin-young's life. Outwardly, he engaged vigorously in singing and acting projects and participated in a volunteer service program in Vietnam. Choi even registered with a university course last year. His homepage, however, revealed his inner gloom. Under the title of "Depression," he said, "... I am tired, tired of people, tired of life, and tired of myself being so tired ..."

These words seem to reveal the degree of depression he suffered, but they do not explain what exactly led him to bid his last farewell to his loving nephews and family and fans, adding to the 13,000 Koreans who commit suicide each year. Korea continued to be the most suicide-prone country among the 30 OECD members with 24.4 lives per 100,000 lost to suicide in 2008.

Some sociologists may be studying the frequency of suicide among people of different occupations but official statistics by such classifications are not available. It is generally understood that there is no conspicuous difference between the suicide rate among white- and blue-collar workers and people with different education levels. So we do not know how the frequency of suicide by people in entertainment compares to the national average. But the shock is greater because many people knew and loved them.

News reports try to find the causes for celebrity suicides. Choi Jin-sil reportedly had financial troubles after her divorce, TV talent Ahn Jae-hwan had too much debt, starlet Chang Ja-yeon was forced by her manager to entertain influential people and actress Lee Eun-joo suffered schizophrenic symptoms. And we presume that their life is hard as they pursue fame and money, in fiercer competitions than in any other areas of society.

Being forgotten by the public must be most unbearable for the people who lived on popularity. But this does not explain suicides among people who are enjoying success and sometimes at the pinnacle of career. There could be romantic problems, yet the most common cause for the average 35 suicide cases each day in Korea are the inability of people to cope with today's harsh life. We find it again in Choi Jin-young's blog.

A newspaper editorial may not offer proper advice to people who are about to succumb to suicide but we would only like to ask everyone living in this competitive society to give his or her family members and friends as much encouragement as possible by telling them how much they love them and how valuable their life is to them.

Excerpt from The Korea Herald
Source: http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/31/201003310009.asp

Stigma of Suicide

Fundamental Approach Needed to Build Sound Society

It's not shocking that South Korea has recorded the world's highest suicide rate. However, the alarm bells are ringing louder and louder, as the rate shows few signs of going down despite a set of government measures to prevent people from yielding to the temptation of killing themselves. In this sense, suicide is often likened to a highly contagious virus rapidly spreading throughout the country with no definite cure.

According to the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, 24.3 out of every 100,000 Koreans committed suicide in 2008, up from 23.9 in 2007 and 21.5 in 2006. The total number of those claiming their own lives surged 49 percent to 12,858 in 2008 from 8,622 in 1998. This means that an average of 35.1 Koreans commit suicide every day. Suicide has emerged as the fourth-biggest cause of death after cancer, cerebrovascular diseases and heart problems.

More worrisome is that suicide has become the overriding cause of deaths among people in their 20s and 30s. It is also the No. 2 killer of children aged between 10 and 19. The suicide rate has already reached its critical point where any fragmentary measures would not work to reverse the trend. Needless to say, the nation will not have a bright future if more and more youngsters give up their own lives.

Now, we have to find the exact reasons for the upsurge in suicides. First of all, people, especially younger generations, have suffered from confusion in their way of thinking and lifestyle amid the rapid erosion of our traditional values in the process of industrialization. Despite materialistic affluence, individuals have inevitably become more alienated and isolated with a lack of human contacts.

Against this backdrop, a growing number of Koreans find it more difficult to find true meaning of their existence, love and happiness. And mammonism and fetishism have been so prevalent that more people tend to have a disregard for life. The situation has worsened due to the widening rich-poor gap and social polarization since the outbreak of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Suicide is not a problem confined to individuals, but a grave social issue that poses a threat to the nation. A suicide-ridden society is a sick society imbued with fear, frustration and anger. No one is willing to live in such a dreary place. So, we should take a sociopathological approach to cure the ills of our society. We must refrain from dog-eat-dog competition for school records, college entrance exams, better jobs and more money.

Instead of seeking a result-oriented system, we had better build a more human and sound society in which every member can work together to pursue love, happiness and peace. On Wednesday, leaders of the nation's seven different religious groups launched an anti-suicide campaign in cooperation with the government and civic groups. They said in a joint statement that suicide can never be a solution to one's problems. The real challenge is how to provide a solution to prevent suicide.

Excerpt from The Korea Times
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2010/03/167_63032.html

Question
1. Do you remember some celebrities who kill themselves?
   Why do many celebrities commit suicides?
2. What do you think of the fact that South Korea has recorded the world's highest suicide rate?
   What are the reasons for the upsurge in suicides?
3. What will you do if your friend or acquaintance is going to commit suicide?
   And what can be the methods to reduce suicide rate?

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