Police announced Wednesday that Korean actor and singer Park Yong-ha, known mostly for his role in 2002’s 겨울연가 or ‘Winter Sonata’, was found dead in his apartment in southern Seoul early Wednesday morning by an apparent suicide. Early reports say it looked as though he hung himself with an electrical cord.
Friends and family say the 33-year-old actor had been severely upset for awhile as he dealt with his father dying of stomach cancer, however, his suicide still came as a shock. There was no note, but family members told media that he kept saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” the night before his death, as he massaged his ailing father.
Park first debuted in 1997, but shot to stardom across Asia after appearing in ‘Winter Sonata’ with Choi Ji-woo and Bae Yong-joon. After that, he went on to release a series of popular albums and singles, including ‘Just Yesterday’, the opening theme to the SBS drama, ‘All In’ with Lee Byun-hun and Song Hye-kyo. He was recently cast with Yoon Eun-hye in a new drama, 러브송 or ‘Comrades, Almost a Love Story,’ which is a remake of a 1996 Hong Kong film, and was set to begin filming in July.
Suicide has become a major social issue in South Korea as more and more celebrities and public figures are choosing to end their lives, which often leads to thousands of ‘copy-cat suicides’. After actress Choi Jin-sil died, there were a reported 1,700 within the following month. The health ministry in Seoul said that in 2007 about 23.9 people in every 100,000 kill themselves and more than 14,500 people committed suicide in 2009, which equates to about 35 suicides a day. The country now has the highest suicide rate out of all of the 30 OECD countries.
Choi Jin-sil, her brother Choi Jin-young, model Daul Kim, former President Ron Moo-hyun, Boys over Flowers actress Jang Ja-yeon and now Park Yong-ha. There is a serious problem with suicide in South Korea. Even today, it is still consider taboo to openly talk about depression or even mention that the stress of everyday life is too much to handle. Admitting that one needs help is still seen as admitting failure.
But even with suicide brought to the forefront with the rising number of high profile deaths, so far all anyone seems to do is sit back and wonder who’s going to be next.
Rest in peace, Park Yong-ha. And may all our thoughts and prayers be with his family and friends during this tough time…
source: Washington Post, JoongAng Daily, AFP
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