Mental Health and Suicide

Mental health stigma and suicide are a huge issue inside of Korea, especially inside of the idol world. Mental health is something rarely talked about, shameful to mention, but more and more idols are speaking up about their struggles and being praised for that.

“In Korea, there is a deeply rooted stigma surrounding mental illness, often originating from misconceptions of what mental illness is, as well as from negative assumptions about those who suffer from mental illness” (Saeji et al. 2018, 5). In Korea this stigma around mental heathcare and illness, Korea also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. This does not exclude idols. In the last two years two very well-known idols, SHINee’s Jonghyun and f(x)’s Sulli, had taken their own lives. In South Korea, suicide now kills more Koreans than car accidents or high blood pressure (Nahm 2009, 410). Suicide in Korea should be treated as an epidemic and to begin to solve this problem Korea needs to find and get rid of the causes; stigma, extremely high standands/expectations on students and adults, bullying, etc. Idols are not “safe” from this epidemic just because they’re rich or popular/famous. Idols are under constant, extreme pressure to be perfect and that stress combined with intense cyber bullying and the stigma in Korea on mental health and its treatment is a cocktail for disaster. Some idols like Seungcheol from Seventeen and Mina from Twice, have recently been struggling with anxiety and the fact that their companies were pretty transparent about what has been going on and giving them treatment, is refreshing. Some other idols though have tried or are trying to do this by using their music as a way to bring awareness and understanding to some of these causes.

The deep stigma on mental health is one of many contributors to the high suicide rates in Korea, but fighting against the misunderstandings of mental illness are idols that openly talk about or write songs about their mental illnesses and treating them. Many idols have used their platform to talk about their struggles with their mental illnesses, like depression and anxiety. Idols like SHINee’s Jonghyun and BTS’s Yoongi and his group have not shied away from the controversial topic. Yoongi and the other members of his group have talked many times about living with depression or not feeling good enough/meeting expectations, etc. They’ve also made many songs over the subject, even naming a series of their albums Love Yourself, to promote self love among their fans. Jonghyun had always been very open and vocal about his struggles with his depression and, much like Sulli, the times he’s struggled with online bullies, something that in Korea is multiplied by 100. The stigma in Korea over mental healthcare and illness is so intense in fact that parents will drive hours out of the way to make sure people they know don’t know their child is being treated for a mental illness (Nahm 2009, 411). It is almost seen as shameful to have a mental illness, let alone be treated for it and this shouldn’t be the case.

If more idols and other stars in pop culture spoke out more against the bullying, the stigma and the unrealistic perfect expectations maybe this epidemic can be slowed down and eventually stopped. Idols speaking up about any struggles they're having as well, whether it's depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or something else, using their popularity on an international platform and bringing those struggles up could bring more awareness and understanding to these issues inside Korea. Sources Nahm, Sheena. "Between Stigma and Demand." Human Organization 68, no. 4 (2009): 406-14.

Saeji, CedarBough T., Gina Choi, Darby Selinger, Guy Shababo, Elliot Y.N. Cheung, Ali Khalaf, Tessa Owens, and Kyle Tang. “Regulating the Idol: The Life and Death of a South Korean Popular Music Star.” The Asia-Pacific Journal 16, no. 3 (2018): 1–32.