Top 10 News: Suicide of Popular Actress Highlights Problems of Cyber Bullying
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A beloved actress and Korea's cinematic sweetheart of nearly 20 years Choi Jin-sil's life became even more dramatic than the TV dramas that she starred in.
Brought up in a poor family she found herself on the fast track to fame at 20. She tied the knot with a pro baseball player a union often labeled "the couple of the century" but divorced four years later after violent domestic quarrels. Overcoming the difficulties of celebrity in a nation that is both deeply conservative and yet liberally wired Choi rose from decline creating new hit dramas. However, the nation was shocked on the morning of October 2nd when the 40-year-old actress hung herself apparently pushed over the edge by a rumor circulating that she was a loan shark who had driven a fellow actor Ahn Jae-hwan to commit suicide.
[Reporter : Yoo Jihae julz1201@arirang.co.kr] "Choi's high-profile death was the lastest in a string of celebrity suicides linked to 'cyber-bullying' a phenomenon that has become more rampant in Korea one of the most wired nations in the world".
According to a report by the Korea Broadcasting Institute which looked into abuse cases targeting celebrities online from 1990 to 2008 almost seven out of 10 attacks were aimed at female celebrities. In terms of specific occupations actors and actresses topped the list followed by singers and comedians. Most of the assaults were baseless rumors and gossip.
[Interview : Yun Hojin, Senior researcher Korea Broadcasting Institute] "Recently, the number of defamatory postings on the Internet targeted at celebrities has seen a significant rise, due to active online interactivity and more exposure of celebrities' private lives through their blogs or homepages".
Fearing a ripple effect and seeking to prevent such a social ill from claiming more lives calls are being made to change the cyber culture in the country.
[Interview : Yun Hojin, Senior researcher Korea Broadcasting Institute] "To minimize the fatal consequences provoked by cyber-bullying, we need to tackle the matter with long and short term strategies. In the short term, a special organization can be established to monitor the related situations, while psychiatric programs and facilities can also help celebrities cope with mental stress. In the long term, education on appropriate online etiquette, especially for teenagers, can prevent further abuse".
The suicides of 2008 sadly remind people of a similar string of celebrity deaths from the previous year but there is hope that the high-profile losses of life will lead to greater examination of the way Koreans treat their idols as well as the way in which depression is dealt with. The hope is that 2009 will be a year of healing rather than of mourning.
Yoo Jihae, Arirang News.
Brought up in a poor family she found herself on the fast track to fame at 20. She tied the knot with a pro baseball player a union often labeled "the couple of the century" but divorced four years later after violent domestic quarrels. Overcoming the difficulties of celebrity in a nation that is both deeply conservative and yet liberally wired Choi rose from decline creating new hit dramas. However, the nation was shocked on the morning of October 2nd when the 40-year-old actress hung herself apparently pushed over the edge by a rumor circulating that she was a loan shark who had driven a fellow actor Ahn Jae-hwan to commit suicide.
[Reporter : Yoo Jihae julz1201@arirang.co.kr] "Choi's high-profile death was the lastest in a string of celebrity suicides linked to 'cyber-bullying' a phenomenon that has become more rampant in Korea one of the most wired nations in the world".
According to a report by the Korea Broadcasting Institute which looked into abuse cases targeting celebrities online from 1990 to 2008 almost seven out of 10 attacks were aimed at female celebrities. In terms of specific occupations actors and actresses topped the list followed by singers and comedians. Most of the assaults were baseless rumors and gossip.
[Interview : Yun Hojin, Senior researcher Korea Broadcasting Institute] "Recently, the number of defamatory postings on the Internet targeted at celebrities has seen a significant rise, due to active online interactivity and more exposure of celebrities' private lives through their blogs or homepages".
Fearing a ripple effect and seeking to prevent such a social ill from claiming more lives calls are being made to change the cyber culture in the country.
[Interview : Yun Hojin, Senior researcher Korea Broadcasting Institute] "To minimize the fatal consequences provoked by cyber-bullying, we need to tackle the matter with long and short term strategies. In the short term, a special organization can be established to monitor the related situations, while psychiatric programs and facilities can also help celebrities cope with mental stress. In the long term, education on appropriate online etiquette, especially for teenagers, can prevent further abuse".
The suicides of 2008 sadly remind people of a similar string of celebrity deaths from the previous year but there is hope that the high-profile losses of life will lead to greater examination of the way Koreans treat their idols as well as the way in which depression is dealt with. The hope is that 2009 will be a year of healing rather than of mourning.
Yoo Jihae, Arirang News.
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