美 언론, 샤이니 종현 유서 두고 韓 아이돌 산업에 강도 높은 비판
권준영기자]
미국의 연예 매체 버라이어티가 한국의 아이돌 산업을 강도 높게 비판했다. 9일(현지시간) 버라이어티는 샤이니 종현의 사망을 두고 한국 아이돌들이 받는 압박감에 대해 지적했다. 이 매체는 한국의 연예산업이 잔혹할 정도로 강한 경쟁 구조로 되어 있다고 지적하며 이를 '헝거 게임'에 비유했다. 수전 콜린스의 SF 소설이자 시리즈 영화로도 제작된 '헝거 게임'은 미래 사회에서 12∼18세 소년·소녀들이 한 사람만 살아남는 생존 경쟁을 펼치는 스토리다. 재능을 지닌 많은 아이돌 지망생들이 기획사의 철저한 관리 속에 연습생으로 혹독한 훈련을 받고, 치열한 경쟁을 거쳐 스타로 탄생하는 K-팝 아이돌 양성 시스템이 이와 비슷하다는 것.
아울러 이 매체는 "난 속에서부터 고장 났다. 천천히 날 갉아먹던 우울은 결국 날 집어삼켰고 난 그걸 이길 수 없었다"고 쓴 종현의 유서를 소개한 뒤 한국의 스타들은 모든 동료가 경쟁자가 되고 오로지 강자만이 살아남는 경쟁에 내몰리고 있다고 해석했다.
또한 지난 1996년 자살한 가수 서지원부터 가수 유니, 탤런트 정다빈, 장자연 등을 예로 들면서 스포트라이트에서 멀어져 가는 것에 대한 두려움, 팬들의 부정적인 반응, 연예 산업의 어두운 이면 등 여러 가지 이유로 스스로 목숨을 끊는 스타들이 줄을 잇고 있다고 지적했다.
A farewell note sent by Kim Jong-hyun, better known by his stage name, Jonghyun, and as front man in Korean-pop sensation SHINee, was uploaded to social media on Tuesday. It points to the crushing pressure of being a celebrity in Korea.
Jonghyun was found unconscious at a private hotel in Seoul on Monday and died in hospital. Seoul police are now treating his death as suicide.
The police report that Jonghyun’s older sister received a text message on Monday suggesting that the star was going to kill himself. And on Tuesday, a longer suicide note was uploaded on the Instagram account of Nine, a musician with modern rock band Dear Cloud. According to Nine’s management, the note was handed to her two weeks before Jonghyun’s death.“I am broken from inside. The depression that had been slowly eating me up finally devoured me and I couldn’t defeat it,” the 27-year old singer-songwriter wrote at the beginning of his note.
Unable To Cast Off Depression
The singer also wrote that his doctor had blamed his personality for being unable to cast off the depression. His note does not specify what he has been burdened by, but he briefly suggests that being a celebrity added pressure.“Maybe I wasn’t supposed to come up against the world; maybe I wasn’t supposed to be known to the world; I’ve learned that’s what (makes my life) difficult. How come I chose that,” it reads.
The Korean entertainment is notoriously high pressure. It includes a Hunger Games-like work environment, where every colleague is also a competitor, and only the strongest survive. Many talents are recruited as teenagers, and may not be emotionally mature enough to handle the discipline and the scrutiny.
The Korean public set high standards of behaviour and physical appearance, and use ubiquitous social media to pass instant judgement.
image: https://www.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/docdc4starint155561845.jpg
Jang Ja-yeon had a supporting role in Boys Over Flowers.
Other Suicides
Since the late 1990s when Korean pop, film and TV dramas grew to become a phenomenon around Asia, several other young Korean talents have committed suicide. Many have left behind notes about how harmful the industry is.
Korean-American singer Charles Park, known by his stage name Seo Ji-won, was one of the first K-pop celebrities to take his own life – on Jan 1, 1996. In a note, he confessed concerns about the sudden success of his debut album, and whether its follow-up, which he had finished recording before his death, would be equally successful. He was 19.
Other actresses and female artistes have killed themselves, complaining of depression and disillusionment with the industry. Jang Ja-yeon, who had a supporting role in the Korean version of hit TV series, Boys Over Flowers, wrote in her suicide note that she had been forced to perform sexual favours to so-called sponsors who help talent get roles in popular TV series or films.
Attacks Over Sexy Style
A source close to actress Jeong Da-bin, who died in 2007, told the police that she had been depressed over her lack of work, the imprisonment of her previous manager, and online attacks about her appearance.
Actress-turned-singer U;Nee hung herself the same year. According to the police report, people close to U;Nee stated that she had become depressed by online criticism, especially attacks over her sexy style.
The reasons for Kim’s decision to kill himself are not yet clear. The last words from one of the industry’s most popular acts, however, reveal some of the dark underbelly beneath K-pop’s gorgeous, glittering facade. – Reuters
image: https://www.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/str2_reutersjonghyun_3_tbkho.jpg
Jeong Da-bin had been depressed over her lack of work.
Read more at https://www.star2.com/entertainment/2017/12/24/k-pops-brutal-pressure-which-leads-to-suicide-of-many-korean-celebrities/#bDudvkzxSc2R8E4R.99
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