Commentary: Goo Haras death should lead K-pop fans to do some soul-searching

SINGAPORE: A fresh-faced starlet in her twenties was found dead in her Seoul home.

News of her passing spread like wildfire on social media, after South Korean police indicated investigations were underway on whether suicide might have been the cause.

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For weeks, shes mourned by fans and followers on Instagram, remembered for being a sweet, sublime voice that truly represented her generation.

And for months, when her name is mentioned, people will stop and think about whether they had missed obvious signs that foretold the songstress untimely end.

If this had been last week, you might have thought I was referring to Sulli, former member of girl group f(x). But a similar, tragic fate befell Goo Hara on Sunday (Nov 24).

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READ: Commentary: Who really killed South Korea celebrity Sulli?

THE OBSESSION WITH GOO

Fans developed an infatuation with Goo when she conformed to the stereotypes of what a K-pop star involves.

From rumours of her dating BIGBANGs G-Dragon to her two-year, vanilla relationship with Beast's Yong Joon-hyung, they were hooked.

But when her scorned ex-boyfriend Choi Jong-bum revealed last year he had sex videos of them which he might sell, the tide turned against her very quickly.

READ: Commentary: BIGBANGs Seungris sex scandal and the end of K-pops innocence

Though there was some sympathy for her compromised position, hardcore fans who watched her transformation from innocent 17-year-old to woman-in-a-sex-video had invested so much and felt let down.

Many poured scorn on the young woman whose biggest sin was in trusting a boyfriend who went on to betray her.

Unfortunately for Goo, female sexuality in a conservative society like South Koreas demanded strict conformity to a long-held script. She paid the price for it. She was hastily dropped from her agency.

Her first suicide attempt in May elicited huge sympathy, but the stir it caused lost her more supporters.

Would her solo single and comeback tour in Japan held just this month rehabilitate her image and help her regain her livelihood had she lived to fight another day? We will never know.

SAD ENDS

Goos untimely death comes on the back of a few famed starlets who have taken their lives.

Sulli, a close friend of Goos, had experienced a startling amount of cyber-bullying and negative press coverage of her wild ways before meeting her unfortunate end just last month.

READ: Fans, celebrities mourn death of K-pop star Sulli, who suffered from 'severe depression'

Shinees Kim Jong-hyun and Jun Tae-soon made the news in the last two years when they took their lives after long, tough battles with depression.

“I was broken from the inside,” Juns will read.

“I had a hard time. Please let me go and say I did a good job,” read Kims text message to his sister just before he killed himself.

FERVENT FANDOMS

Experts have discussed how the Korean entertainment industry must do better to help young artistes cope with the shock of fame. After all, these youngsters were extracted from their adolescent lives and put through intense training and grueling schedules, only to be greeted with even greater societal pressure.

READ: Commentary: Fame and fortune doesnt make you immune to depression

In the land of K-pop where fandoms can make or break a star with their fanaticism and financing, fans take celebrity worship to a whole new level.

Just look at the BTS Army (what the BTS fandom call themselves) who singlehandedly propelled their favourite boyband to the top of the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist in 2017, breaking world superstar Justin Biebers six-year winning streak. They chalked up huge points for their idols with their social media shares, reactions and plays.

READ: Commentary: How world sensation BTS took K-pop fandom to a whole new level

The BTS Army also dropped big bucks on concerts, digital marketing ads and huge billboards to demonstrate their love and promote their artistes – like the many theyve taken out in New York Citys Times Square these past two years.

BTS has since gone on to smash “most-viewed”, “most followed” or “most engagement” records on TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and more.

Thanks to their fans, theyve also achieved a level of international pop culture recognition rarely seen by K-pop stars before – performing to sold-out arena shows and popular television talkshows including Jimmy Fallons The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America.

Foreign emissaries have also bought into the hype. Even the US Embassy in Seoul tweeted congratulations to the group for winning Varietys “Group of the Year”.

THE DARK SIDE OF CELEBRITY WORSHIP

BTS might be doing fine, but their story suggests its no wonder K-pop celebrities feel immense pressure to meet the expectations of their most ardent fans and put on a smiling face in public. This money-spinning admiration can easily turn into an all-consuming and caustic form of celebrity idolatry.

Celebrity worship and celebrity bashing are often two sides of the same coin – with the same face. There is even a word for them – sasaeng (an obsessive fan).

READ: Commentary: K-pop fans should mourn the loss of good music not artistes

READ: Commentary: The fight for Wonho is a huge challenge to the K-pop machine

Manic fans have stalked the BTS boys, broken into their hotel rooms and given their favourite stars grief when they dont smile or look the way they do in picture-perfect music videos and photo-shopped promotional content.

Other K-pop singers have similar bitter experiences with fame. Super Juniors Shindong was shamed in October for putting on weight – by his own fans.

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