When we hear about K-pop, the first thing that strikes our mind is a world full of fame, colours, and joy. However, this fame comes with a cost. It might be all glittery on the surface but K-pop has a disturbing dark side. Especially the unexplainable and mysterious deaths of some of the idols, leaving their family members and millions of fans worldwide in shock.
1. Yohan
On the morning of June 17th,2020, Korean netizens were left in shock when they found about the sudden decease of Yohan from TST at the age of 28. He was a member of the band TST. TST made a comeback in 2020 with a song called ‘Countdown.’ At that time, Yohan was utterly healthy, and fans could see him enthusiastically dancing on stage. Fans were confused with his sudden death because they didn’t understand how a cheerful boy died suddenly. The cause of his death was not explicitly revealed because of his family’s wish. Fans tried to speculate his death. However, no one was not able to find out about his death.
2. Woo Hye Mi
On September 22nd, 2019, female singer Woo Hye Mi passed away at her house at 31. Two days before her death, her family was unable to contact her. They then decided to report the matter to the police. When the police arrived at her house, she was found to be dead. The cause of her death has still not been resolved. However, fans speculate that she had committed suicide.
3. Kim Sung Jae
He was a member of a group named Deux. After Deux broke up, Sung Jae released his debut solo album,’ As I Told You,’. He performed the album's title track the same day and then returned to his hotel room with his girlfriend. The following day the dance team was shocked to find out that Kim Seung has died in his bedroom. The cause of his death was initially determined as a sudden heart attack due to overworking. However, later on, 28 needle marks were found in his body, and his blood contained a large amount of tiletamine zolazepam which is an extremely powerful animal stimulant and this was the cause of Kim Jae’s death.
4. U;Nee
She was a talented and beautiful Korean actor and singer. She debuted as an actor in 1996 as a child actress. However, acting didn’t turn out well for her and she debuted as a singer in 2003. To fit the beauty standards of the K-pop industry, she had to undergo a lot of plastic surgery. Due to the plastic surgery, she faced criticism, and a lot of people called her ‘Plastic’. Her friends also revealed that she had a hard time financially and wasn’t making any money from her music career. On January 21st, 2007, she was found dead at the age of 27.
5. Shin Hae Chul
He was an OG Korean singer-songwriter and was also a prominent rock band artist. He debuted in 1988 with his school band NBC musical festival and won the first position. After that, he had a very successful music career. On October 27th, 2014, he went to surgery because he had some pain in the intestine area, but after the surgery, he went to a massive heart attack which led to a coma. Sadly, he passed away on the same day.
6. Kim Hwan Sung
He debuted in a 90’s boy group called NRG. On June 6th, 2000, after coming back from China, Kim Hwan complained about a sore throat, so his members took him to a hospital to treat him for a cold. However, within the six days, he was hospitalized, his health started to deteriorate very quickly. After being put into the intensive care unit, he fell into a coma with his life support on. Unfortunately, the doctors said that there’s no chance of someone coming back from a coma that deep. His family decided to take him off life support, and on June 15, 2000, at the age of 19, he passed away.
7. Yoo Jae Ha
He released his first album in 1987 and was known to be one of the most legendary singer-songwriters. However, his friends described him as an alcoholic. On November 1st, 1987, he got into a car with a drunk friend. The driver steered up the road on the opposite side, crashing into a taxi. It was such a severe coalition that their bodies flew out of the car, which killed both the passengers and the driver.
8. Goo Hara
She was a member of a girl group called Kara. She previously confessed that her boyfriend threatened her and told her that he would put an“end to her entertainment career" by leaking their sex videos. On November 24, 2019, she was found dead at her home at the age of 28. The cause of death is ruled as a possible suicide after being targeted by abusive online comments.
9. Sulli
She was a member of F(x) until she left in 2015 to concentrate on her acting career. Fans believe that she quit her K-pop work after struggling with the abuse she got online. She was found dead at her house on October 3rd, 2019. The cause of her death is not determined, but Police believe Sulli may have taken her own life.
10. Kim Jong Hyun
He was the main vocalist of the boy band Shinee. In December 2017, Jonghyun rented an apartment in Cheongdam-dong, for two days, where he committed suicide. He was found unconscious by the police in the apartment he rented. He was instantly brought to Konkuk UniversityHospital in a state of cardiac arrest. He received emergency CPR treatment. However, he failed to regain consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital at the age of 27.
