In early December, the Korean entertainment circle once again heard bad news. Che Renhe, a 27 year old Korean male artist, was found dead at home. This is the third young Korean artist to die suddenly in just over a month. The first two are women and commit suicide.
Tragedies happen frequently, which makes people sigh. What's the matter with the Korean entertainment circle?
Some people even say that the Korean entertainment industry seems to be trapped in a 'suicide curse'.
On December 3, South Korean actor Che Renhe was found dead at home.
Che Renhe, 27, made his debut in July 2017. At that time, he was one of the members of the actor group surprise U. later, he starred in many online dramas and popular TV dramas.
Cherenhe usually gives the impression that he is an optimistic big boy. The day before his death, he also posted on social media instagram, urging fans to take care of themselves in the cold winter.
This makes fans feel very confused about Che Renhe's death.
Korean people: just because he is the same age as me, it makes me more sad. I think they may be experiencing pain, even though their life looks good.
At present, the police are investigating the cause of death of cheren river.
In just 50 days, this is the third time that the death of a young artist has been heard from the Korean entertainment industry.
On October 14, Choi Shirley, an artist of SM, a famous Korean entertainment company, was found dead at home at the age of 25. At present, the police speculate that his death was due to suicide.
The agent said Shirley suffered from severe depression.
After Cui Xueli's death, her friend and fellow idol artist Ju HeLa held a live broadcast on social media, crying and mourning.
Korean artist juhora: Shirley, my sister is in Japan. I can't see you off. I'm sorry. When you get there, I hope everything will be as you want. My sister will work hard to live for you.
However, juhora finally 'broke her promise'.
On November 24, one month and ten days after Shirley's death, Ju holla, 28, was found dead at home.
Like Shirley, juhora, who started as a women's group at the age of 17, is well-known in South Korea. She sang, appeared in TV dramas and participated in variety shows, but she also suffered from depression due to various pressures.
People speculate that Cui Xueli's death may be the last straw to crush juhora.
Young artists with beautiful youth and bright prospects have died one after another, which makes people have to re-examine the Korean entertainment industry.
According to a Bloomberg report, in 2017, the market value of Korean wave industry affecting the world reached US $4.7 billion. Being good at 'making stars' is considered to be the way to success in South Korea's entertainment industry. But from unknown passers-by to hot idols, what have these mass-produced stars experienced?
1、 Slave contract: the training period is not counted, and the starting date is 7 years
The phenomenon that brokerage companies profit from the talent and efforts of artists is not only in South Korea, but in South Korea, the exploitation of aspiring star artists is the most naked.
In 2017, after former jjcc member Mike Henry quit the group, he briefly introduced the Korean entertainment circle in his eyes on his YouTube channel.
Former member of South Korean jjcc: the term of the slave contract is very long, typically 7 to 15 years.
McHenry said that such slave contracts exist widely in Korean entertainment circles. Moreover, the contract will not take effect immediately from the date of signing. After signing a contract with an entertainment broker, young people have to be trainees for several years and receive training, which will not be included in the contract.
2、 Hell working mode: Idol '007' is tired to go on
After graduating from the training camp, the trainee started his career as an artist and started a harder life.
In Korea, artists are a full-time job, especially the young artists in the idol group, who have little free time.
Mike Henry, a former member of jjcc in Korea: if you have a work task, you may have to work 24 hours and 7 days a day. For example, when I work, I have to get up at 6 o'clock every morning. I have to run for two hours and then practice dancing. If there are performances and other performance arrangements, if it is early after the end, I will continue to practice dancing at 11 p.m. until 1 a.m., and then I can go home, take a bath and sleep. I feel very tired every day.
Even if you are sick or injured, you should insist on training and complete the performance. It is normal for artists to suddenly faint on the stage.
3、 Disproportionate pay and return: 90% for the company, artists? Pay back the training fee first
Some people may say that when fame and wealth are reaped, all these sacrifices and efforts are worth it. But in fact, Korean artists rarely get equivalent returns.
Former member of Korean jjcc: companies usually get 90% and artists get 10%. If you are lucky enough, the company will get 80% and the artist will get 20%.
Since Korean idol artists often make their debut in the form of combination, the 10% ~ 20% share will continue to be divided.
If you are a member of a five person group, you can only get 2% ~ 4% of the remuneration, and you also need to repay the training fee before your debut to the brokerage company.
In other words, if artists are not popular, they may not make ends meet and live a difficult life. If artists become popular, they will actually become a cash cow for brokerage companies due to more than ten years of slave contracts.
4： Forced cosmetic surgery: the company 'suggests' I'll do it
Cosmetic surgery is common in Korean entertainment circles. It is understandable to have voluntary cosmetic surgery, but sometimes entertainment companies force their artists to have cosmetic surgery.
Shen Dongxi, from the men's group super junior, disclosed in an interview: "one day, the director of our brokerage company suggested that I should have double eyelid surgery. Because my eyes were uncomfortable, I decided to follow his advice."
Independent artist Huang Zhilie also admitted that he adjusted his appearance at the request of his agent. He told reporters: 'I have no idea about cosmetic surgery, but before I made my debut, my agency said we should do it, so I did it.'
5： Strict diet: I kept my weight, but I was ill
Idol artists, appearance is very important.
In addition to requiring artists to have cosmetic surgery, some brokerage companies also conduct weekly weight checks on their female artists. If members fail to maintain the company's specified weight, they will be punished. Punishment may be dancing, running or fasting.
Severe weight control and great psychological pressure have led to physical dysfunction of some artists. Shen Huizhen, a member of the women's Group 'oh my girl', and independent singer Li Zhien have admitted that they suffer from anorexia and bulimia respectively.
6： Internet bullying: if netizens don't like the new image of artists, they will scold 10000 people?
The rise of social media is one of the important factors that make Korean wave popular in South Korea and even the world.
Korean entertainment companies make full use of the social media platform to spread artists' works and activities, encourage the communication between artists and fans, and shape the affinity image of artists. At the same time, it also makes artists more exposed to the complex network social environment and become victims of network bullying.
Cui Xueli: reporters, please love me more. Dear viewers, please love me more.
Cui Xueli, who died on October 14, was a victim of online bullying.
In 2015, after Shirley quit the group and acted as an actor, she tried to change the image of girls' idols and reshape her personal style.
She began to upload some bold photos on social media, but she was criticized by many netizens and labeled as' flying self ', and straightforward she would also connect with netizens during the live broadcast.
Korean people: if millions of people constantly criticize and abuse you, you will be very sad to live a normal life.
Korean culture commentator Kim Hyun sik: the influence of social media and people's dependence on it have reached a level that can not only put celebrities at risk, but also ordinary people at risk.
Cheng Dongkui, Professor of media science at Central University of Korea: (the government) must actively strive to develop a system to minimize the negative impact of social media and portals.
On October 14, after Cui Xueli's death, some netizens issued a petition on the bulletin board of qingwatai, South Korea, requesting the government to formulate the 'Shirley law' - implement the real name system for Internet users and require portal websites to filter out malicious comments. After the issuance of the petition, as of November 14, more than 23000 signatures were received in one month.
Jin Dayong, co-author of "Korean Idol: pop culture and the rise of Korean music industry", believes that the successive death of Korean young artists shows that there is a negative model in Korean entertainment industry.
Those artists who look bright in front of the camera and on the stage may be experiencing unspeakable difficulties in private, but this contrast can not be sympathized or understood by the society, and may even attract attacks of cyber violence. This is not only the tragedy of the entertainment industry, but also the tragedy of human nature.