PHOTOSFans Mark One Year Since K-Pop Star's Tragic Death
Fans are honoring the late singer Jonghyun on the first anniversary on his death. Fans travelled to a theater in the Gangnam District of Seoul, Korea, for a special event that paid tribute to the vocalist, who was member of the popular K-pop group, SHINee.
In addition to a memorial service, the event also included an art fair that featured clips and writing dedicated to Jonghyun. The event was organized by the nonprofit organization Shiny, which was founded by his family in September and supports young artists.
Last December, the 27-year-old was found unresponsive and in a state of cardiac arrest in a Seoul apartment. His older sister urged first responders to conduct a wellness check after she received a series of upsetting texts messages from him. She believed that he was planning to die by suicide.
Following his death, what was believed to be his suicide note was posted to social media by a close friend and fellow K-pop idol, Nine9, of the group Dear Cloud. The fan-created hashtag #YouDidWellJonghyun, which was a reference to the note, trended globally.
Jonghyun had been extremely candid about his struggle with depression throughout his decade-long career. Up until March 2017, he hosted a radio show called Blue Night, which encouraged callers to share and talk candidly about their own mental health struggles.
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South Korea still has one of the highest rates of suicide among developed countries and it remains a taboo topic of discussion. Jonghyun’s decision to create such an open dialogue was considered groundbreaking.
His tragic death helped shift the narrative and sparked important conversations about mental health and highlighted the sometimes competitive nature of the entertainment business in South Korea.
Nearly a month after his death, Jonghyun’s agency SM Entertainment released his second studio album, Poet | Artist, posthumously. It became his very first album to hit the US Billboard Charts; he debuted on the Social 50 chart at number two.
More recently, in May 2018 his group SHINee released their sixth studio album The Story of Light. It was their first since Jonghyun’s death.
What do you think about fans creating artwork in tribute to Jonghyun? Let us know in the comments.
