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Actress Kim Sae-ron is the latest Korean public figure to be hounded to death
Korean celebrities may be loved by their fans, but make one slip-up and the online abuse starts, often fuelled by mass media
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Why does this keep happening?
This is the question that many have been asking themselves as South Korea reels from the untimely death of actress Kim Sae-ron at the age of 24, yet another celebrity found dead after being mercilessly hounded by hateful online commenters and media figures hungry for scandal.
Kim’s death was a shock, but as with many similar deaths in South Korea, the shock was not just at something unexpected but came with dark understanding.
It did not matter that initial reports of her death avoided any mention of suicide. Everyone knew how she had died and why. We have gone through this before – far too many times to count and far more often than we are comfortable acknowledging.
Celebrities are held to rigorous moral standards in Korea, and when one of them steps out of line they are quickly taken to task by the media and lambasted by hordes of online commentators.
Parasite actor Lee Sun-kyun ended his own life in the wake of a scandal over his use of illegal drugs and an affair, while K-pop icon Sulli killed herself following years of cyberbullying she endured for the perceived crimes of being eccentric and a feminist.
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