Lee Joon (photo: Republic of Korea, CC by 2.0)
Reports of Lee Joon’s suicide attempt are all ‘fake news,’ according to the Kpop superstar’s agency. But is it really just made up?
The timing of the report couldn’t have been worse. As Kpop struggles with a growing issue of burnout and mental stress, another superstar may be succumbing to the pressure. Just this morning, South Korea’s Seoul Shinmun reported that multi-faceted superstar Lee Joon tried to end his life.
Joon is a well-known entertainer in Korea. He first entered the spotlight as a member of South Korean boy band MBLAQ, and has recently released solo material. But he’s also successfully diversified into acting, a path open to high-profile members of Kpop groups like BTS’ Rap Monster.
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The suicide attempt apparently happened while Joon was serving mandatory military time. According to the Seoul Shinmum report, Joon slit his wrists, survived, and confessed the attempt to his supervising officer. “I’ll fulfill my duties to the best of my ability,” a distressed Joon reportedly stated.
Soon thereafter, Joon was sent to ‘Green Camp,’ a special training area reserved for troubled trainees.
Sadly, the news — real or fake — wasn’t shocking to Koreans and Kpop fans. Indeed, these stories are becoming more common, with a suicide last December raising questions about Kpop’s rigorous demands and high-pressure expectations.
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That suicide belonged to Kim Jong-hyun, lead singer of Kpop group SHINee. The suicide note seemed at odds with the smiley demeanor of a Kpop singer — which is exactly the point here.
“I was broken from the inside. The depression slowly chipped me away, finally devouring me… Troubling thoughts flooded my head. I never got the chance to learn how to change dull pain into pure joy.”
Whether that crushing weight is also killing Joon is hard to say, especially given a flat-out denial by his agency.
Joon’s agency Prain TPC has now issued the following statement on the matter:
“We have checked with Lee Joon’s family and the report about him showing his slit wrist, attempting suicide, or being transferred to ‘Green Camp’ are all not true. Lee Joon’s family is in deep shock after reading the report. We ask you to refrain from making reports for the mental stability of Lee Joon and his family.”
For your information, Seoul shinmun is NOT one of the largest newspapers.
In fact, they’re one of the smallest.
This is clickbait and you should not use that topic to get people to read this article if you just said something like
How bighit really treat their best idols
You would of still got a ton of people reading you should not use BTS for this
How DARE you. How. Dare. You. I honestly feel like puking. I am so appalled that you are so low and such a piece of trash that you’ll use the suicide attempts of K-pop celebrities as clickbait. That’s not a joke or something to be treated lightly you complete piece of trash. Go tell Jonghyun’s family and bandmates how you used his death as clickbait. We get that you hate K-pop. But don’t you even dare to try to use something so serious to promote that fact and call it all fake news. And bringing up RM was unnecessary. You just used his name to either promote how much you hate him. You disgust me beyond anything I have ever seen.