July 2010

This is so sad. A young man, Park Yong-ha a successful actor and singer committed suicide. According to Wikipedia:

“Park was found dead by his mother at 5:30 am June 30, 2010 at his home in Nonhyeon-dong, Seoul, hanging from a camcorder charger cable after committing suicide. He is said to be under pressure whilst managing his entertainment company, career and was coping with his father’s cancer. He did not leave a suicide note.”

Jung II-woo and many artists went to his funeral. These are the photos of Jung II-woo attending. A few days later he wrote something very moving in his Cyworld account.  You can read it here.

WITAT

The first thought that came to may mind is the pain his mother had to endure…not just in that moment but for the rest of her life.

The second thought is about the pressure entertainers like Jung II-woo are put through. It is so high! It is a very difficult sea to navigate on.  Life itself is not easy sometimes and when you combine the two makes it even more difficult.  It rally takes a very strong person to survive such a career. Then, there is also the culture of South Korea, as it has a very competitive society, where there are a lot of people trying to succeed and be the best.  Sadly, because of this South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Jung II-woo, the more I read your writing:

“Rather than compare me to someone’s maximum

I have learned to compare myself to my own maximum.

Life does not depend on what happens.

It depends on how you cope with what happened.”

and about you… the more I admire how wise and strong you are!