Chapter 18 2. Korean star suicide wave

Behind the systematic training is the high pressure of capital operation. You said that the company has spent so much money and resources to cultivate a star, as long as you are matched, as long as you are on the star-making assembly line, then you must be overdeveloped.In the early stage, we will try our best to train and develop our potential, and in the later stage, we will sign a full contract to ensure the maximum profit. There is no way, the company's bounden duty is to make a profit.It's just that when some people only have money in their eyes and do whatever they can to benefit, the artist becomes a victim.

At the beginning of 2011, the news of Song Hye Kyo and Hyun Bin's breakup did not get much attention, but the news that the suicide note of the new actor Jang Ja Yeon who had starred in the popular KBS Korean drama "Boys Over Flowers" was released caused an uproar.What attracted much discussion was the suicide note left by Zhang Ziyan, which revealed that she had been forced to provide more than 100 sexual services to 31 people, including those who worked in planning companies, financial institutions, and broadcasting companies.Zhang Ziyan stated in her suicide note that even if she dies, she will take revenge on the devil, and the devil she refers to in the letter is widely speculated to be the agent who forced her to provide sexual services.

Zhang Ziyan is not the first Korean star to commit suicide.Search for "Korean star suicide", there will be a lot of content and names.Just after Jang Ja Yeon's death, South Korean singer Lee Chang Yong was found hanged at his home.After that, it was the news that TV actor Cui Zhenying hanged himself at home. Cui Zhenying's sister Cui Jin also committed suicide at home two years ago. In 2010, Park Yong-ha hanged himself to death, which accidentally triggered a wave of suicides in Korea. Park Yong-ha's female fans also followed him to commit suicide. Singer Noh Jin-woo attempted suicide by jumping into the Han River after drinking.Not long after, TV producer Li Zhina also hanged herself with a belt in her bathroom. It is said that she was depressed and desperate because she could not raise funds. At the end of 2010, TV actress and model Park Hye-sang committed suicide at home, the cause of suicide has not been announced.Some media analyzed that the wave of suicides was triggered by the "Werther effect" (imitation suicide).Among many actors, the most sensational suicide news is the suicides of Cui Zhenzhen, Li Eunzhu and Zheng Dabin.Since the three actresses have all made film and television works that are very familiar to mainland audiences, Cui Zhenzhen has "Legend of the Chariot God" and "Star Dream", Li Enzhu has "Taichi Flag Flying", and Zheng Duobin has, the news of suicide came. While people sighed, they couldn't help but wonder: what happened to the Korean star?

Is it because Korean stars are too fragile in their hearts, or are there other reasons? Koreans are too rigid and brittle. In this country where even the president commits suicide, the artist's suicide will of course have national factors. However, the rotten soil in the entertainment industry is also a catalyst for the artist's depression and world-weariness. How much work pressure is there? Korea's entertainment industry already has a well-developed mechanism, so one can imagine how fierce the competition is.The speed of replacement is too fast, so it creates a lot of pressure.The members of the group were kicked out of the team, and they were finally abandoned by the record company for many years, and they were not popular when they were fighting for overseas markets, and they were finally banned by the company.Korean companies have strict control over their artists. The actors pay a lot, but only get very little remuneration, and they don't have a sense of dignity.Coupled with the early debut and incomplete psychological construction, under multiple pressures, it is easy to get overwhelmed.

Choi Jin-han, the CEO of South Korea’s G1 Entertainment Company (under MBC), signed Lee Young-ae in 1997 and single-handedly made her popular.In an interview, he talked about the growth history of Korean stars. According to Mr. Cui, although the Korean entertainment industry is prosperous, most of the top stars are concentrated in some big entertainment companies, including SM, JPY, YG and so on.These major entertainment companies have all gone public, and they are basically giants in the industry. They not only participate in the investment and production of film and television dramas, but also sign and promote their own stars.

In South Korea, major TV stations, music companies, and film and television production companies have formed long-term and effective selection mechanisms. They promote selection activities through the Internet and the media. Candidates have no qualifications, no thresholds, and equal opportunities. However, these selections are not public selections. , is completely decided by the company independently and is not affected by fan votes.Mr. Cui said that when looking for singers, the company will conduct a selection once a month. Generally, they look at their resumes, looks and basic skills, and some completely look at their looks.There are many ways to select actors, including street scouts, school recommendations, insider recommendations, and beauty pageants.South Korea does not have too many professional film and television acting schools, and many actors come from the acting departments of comprehensive universities.After the official recruitment, the newcomers will be greeted with comprehensive and systematic company training.According to the different foundations of each person, the training duration varies, generally for 3 years, and the company needs to spend hundreds of millions of won (equivalent to millions of RMB) to train a new employee.Therefore, the company's pressure is exerted on the individual, making the artist himself bear the heavy pressure that artists from other regions can't match.

The "Prince" from Chengdu was once trained in South Korea and almost became a member of "TVXQ".The prince, whose real name is Xu Mingfei, was the first street dancer in Chengdu. In 2003, the prince was selected by a South Korean brokerage company to study and live in South Korea for a year.At that time, he once performed on the same stage with Rain, who was still a dancer at that time.Because he didn't want to leave his parents, the prince gave up the opportunity to join TVXQ.However, he didn't regret it, because the one-year study and life in Korea benefited him for life, and also made him feel the cruelty of the Korean entertainment industry.

Recalling the training life in South Korea, the prince said: "We dance for 8 hours a day, starting with some basic basic skills. For example, when you see the vibration-like movement I often dance, I have practiced almost one 4 to 6 groups every day, each group should be practiced 3000 times, and every part of the body should be shaken." In order to test whether each trainee is working hard, the teacher came up with a perverted method: prepare one for each trainee. Small bucket, everyone is required to wring out their clothes after practice every day, and the bucket must be half filled with sweat to pass the test. "There is really no way, I can only spit or pour some mineral water to get away." The prince can't have his own mobile phone there, because the company doesn't allow it, and he can only make calls at home at work.

The prince said: "The teacher usually slaps the students with slippers. Although the slap is heavy, the Korean trainees will not resist at all, and they will nod and apologize while being slapped." In South Korea, the status of dancers is very low. "Many people have no income. I often see Korean trainees picking up cigarette butts thrown away by others outside the rehearsal room to smoke." Ma Xueyang, a native Chengdu boy, stepped into the entertainment circle because he participated in the 2007 "Happy Boys".Different from other fast boys who develop alone, he formed the singing group "Supreme Lihe" with Zhang Yuan, Liu Zhoucheng, Li Mao, and Korean artist Kim Eun-sung, and went to Korea for half a year of study.

Being able to study in South Korea, where the performing arts industry is very developed, is the dream of many young people in China. However, in fact, it is not as easy as everyone thinks. Life is full of sweat and tears every day. "Get up at 90 o'clock every morning, go to the fitness center after breakfast, and exercise with the help of fitness instructors according to their own characteristics!" The fitness time is almost two hours, and then everyone goes home for lunch, at two o'clock in the afternoon Left and right came to the classroom to learn vocal music.After the vocal practice, it was 6 o'clock in the evening, and Ma Xueyang and his party hurried to the dance classroom. They could only eat some fast food on the way.The dance practice at night is very tiring, and I have to dance from 8 o'clock to 12 o'clock.Back at the apartment, they were so exhausted that they didn't even bother to take a shower and fell asleep... The life at 3:00 and 1st line was boring and boring. What these energetic boys wanted to do most on their rest days was to sleep.Only at the end of half a year of study did Ma Xueyang have time to go shopping, and even went to Lotte World, the largest indoor playground in Korea, all while recording programs.

As the captain of "Supreme Lihe", Zhang Yuan said frankly: "At that time, he must have been beaten. Our teacher was the dance teacher of the group 'Mythology'. Although he is not tall, he has very strict requirements. Will hit us on the head!" The myth of the Chinese boy Han Geng began in 2001. SM, the largest star-making factory in South Korea, held an open competition in Beijing. Han Geng, a boy from the Northeast, was selected to go to Korea for training. SM Company handles tourist passports for foreign trainees, and they have to go back to China to renew their visas every three months.In SM company, the competition among its trainees is very fierce, there are those who are eliminated or give up on their own every day. After several renewals, Han Geng is the only one left among the companions who arrived in Korea together. "When I was a trainee, I had to practice continuously for up to 20 hours a day." The devilish practice made Han Geng very hard, but he was always strong as he never gave up, and he didn't even know he had broken a bone for two months. "At that time, I really didn't know where I was injured. One day when I was doing push-ups, I felt my arm hurt. After going to the hospital to take an X-ray, the doctor said, you have a fracture here. I asked when the fracture occurred, and he said two months ago, It’s already grown up.” In November 2005, Han Geng and other Korean boys formed the large-scale group SuperJunior and officially debuted.There is a rule in the Korean entertainment industry that foreign artists can only sign performance contracts with three TV stations in Korea. Han Geng’s opportunities to perform are limited. Due to the low rate of appearances, Han Geng’s popularity at that time has been tepid. Neither can be exposed. "Because the relevant people can't see me performing in public, if they find out, they will be fined, and if it is serious, you will not be allowed to enter Korea." The clever Han Geng later came up with a way, that is to wear a mask on stage, "So then At that time, I wore a mask and a hat, and performed on stage with the players." In South Korea, they start as "trainees" in the arts, and the training period is usually two to three years. Plastic surgery is a compulsory course before their debut.Big companies take a very high percentage of artists' income, and even many artists have no money at all in the first few years of their debut.Some artists often encounter violence, and it is very common to accompany them to drink and sleep. In South Korea, these unspoken rules have become well-known explicit rules. Once the content of Zhang Ziyan's suicide note was exposed, it caused an uproar in South Korea.This is completely contrary to the words of former planning company representative Kim who has been advocating that "there is no such thing as sleeping with him in the entertainment industry."When Zhang Ziyan's former brokerage company boss Jin Mou was tried last year, he was only found guilty of violently beating Zhang Ziyan, and did not involve the "sex transaction". According to South Korean media reports, after Zhang Ziyan committed suicide, the police revealed that Kim Sung-hoon, the former representative of her agency, hit Zhang Ziyan's head and face with plastic bottles and palms in June 2008, because Zhang Ziyan told others about his privacy.The boss surnamed Jin and agent surnamed Liu were sentenced to 1 year in prison by the court in November 2010, but the case was closed with 2 years of probation and 160 hours of social service. This is of course not an isolated case.Solbi, the only female member of the mixed 3-member group Typhoon, revealed that she was imprisoned by an agency for 6 months before her debut.In the end, she took advantage of the fact that her boss was not in the practice room and jumped from the window on the second floor and managed to escape. The person in charge of SBS News stated that these public letters have been verified by experts to confirm that these letters are indeed written by Zhang Ziyan.The SBS report brought Zhang Ziyan's suicide case into the focus of public attention again, and a large number of people expressed angrily that they demanded that the police re-investigate Zhang Ziyan's suicide case and disclose the names of the 31 people in the letter. Zhang Ziyan has acted in hot and passionate scenes because of her hot body and plump bust. When she stepped into the entertainment industry, she was repeatedly hit by unspoken rules.The miserable Zhang Ziyan finally chose to commit suicide, and the suicide note was made public for the first time nearly two years after her suicide, which also shows that the Korean media attaches great importance to Zhang Ziyan's suicide.In fact, it is not uncommon for Korean actresses to encounter unspoken rules in the entertainment industry, and most actresses do not deny that they have encountered unspoken rules.Zhang Ziyan committed suicide and left a suicide note because of unspoken rules, which also proves the many disadvantages in this industry. According to the "Investigation on the Actual Human Rights of Female Artists" report released by the National Human Rights Commission of South Korea in 2010, 6 out of 10 actresses said they had been asked to provide sex to socially influential people. 31.5% of the respondents said that they had been sexually harassed by touching their breasts, buttocks and legs, 21.5% of the female artists said they had been directly asked to have sex, and 6.5% of the female artists had suffered sexual violence, etc. Criminal persecution.There are many people who request sex trafficking, including chaebols, directors, representatives of production companies, advertisers, and politicians.Among the female artists who were asked to provide sexual services, about half (48.4%) suffered losses in terms of role assignments or starring in commercials after the refusal. Korean stars commit suicide from time to time due to excessive pressure.Zheng Dabin, Cui Zhenzhen, Li Enzhu, Zhang Ziyan, all kinds of artist suicides may be just the tip of the iceberg.The suicide note also exposed the top ten popular Korean actresses who were unspoken rules, including Cui Zhenzhen and Zheng Dabin. These are the various rules that Korean stars have to go through after entering the industry. According to reports, the selection of ordinary "trainees" in South Korea has reached an intensity of 1 out of 800.And only about half of the trainees can finally make their debut successfully.This serious imbalance between supply and demand is the root cause of various human rights violations.Sara, a Korean female artist who is currently developing in China, revealed some Korean trainee systems in an interview: "General trainees (that is, trainees) will enter the company when they are about 10 years old, and they will pass through the company when they are 15 years old. The process of selecting artists through examinations is very strict, from sound, stage, body, appearance, including make-up and modeling, all must be studied, and there are strict assessments, and those who fail will be eliminated at any time." If the "trainee" does not make his debut after several years of training, he will be sent to accompany him for a drink.According to reports, a trainee in the Korean showbiz once broke the news in a certain year, accusing the brokerage company of providing food and lodging on the surface, but in fact using the dormitory as a guest house and letting wealthy businessmen enter it every time for "drafts". Taking dance practice as an excuse, take it to a dance studio full of mirrors and lenses, and do some stretching movements that can show your figure for "inspection". In July 2009, three members of the Korean group "TVXQ" filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the 13-year agreement between the three and SM Entertainment be invalidated. After several months of litigation, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the 13-year agreement between SM and the three One side of the contract is invalid - From the lawsuit between "TVXQ" and SM Entertainment, we can see that the Korean entertainment industry is very strict in signing agreements.Yoona Lin, a member of the female idol group "Girls' Generation", once revealed that their contract period is also 13 years like that of "TVXQ". At the end of 2008, according to Korean media reports, 10 performing arts companies in South Korea signed unfair contracts with artists. In these artist contracts, clauses such as "If you want to associate with the opposite sex, you should discuss with the company in advance, and then accept the command and supervision" are impressive. in column.Excessive clauses also include: explain whether any family members are in debt, whether there have been scandals; report and record before falling in love; all personal problems must not be concealed; individuals must also obtain the approval of a brokerage company to go abroad. For example, the agency has been considering the issue of Hyun Bin's enlistment in the army, and has been asking the artist to conceal the relationship between the two.Until the second day after Hyun Bin enlisted in the army, the news of the breakup was immediately made public, which put Qiao Mei under tremendous pressure inexplicably.On the one hand, it is the pain of a broken relationship, and on the other hand, it has to face the public's accusations of concealing the breakup.In fact, it was a last resort not to make it public as before.However, when an artist falls in love, the brokerage company is stricter than the parents. "I'm not selling it to you." The words are true, but once a person and the company sign a contract, it's like selling themselves, and they can't help themselves. In Korea, artists have to wait until, like Song Hye Kyo, they have already obtained their qualifications and acquired the ability to negotiate with a brokerage company before they can hope to get ahead.Therefore, once Song Hye Kyo becomes famous and has weight, she can change jobs whenever she wants, and she has the right to choose her own job.However, how much hard work and unknown dedication will it take to get where it is today?The unspoken rules in the Korean entertainment industry are becoming more and more excessive. Managers like Zhang Ziyan have exceeded the legal boundaries. Now we can only be thankful that our sister Qiao made her debut early.In addition to debuting early, she must also have a sharp mind, knowing how to judge the situation and distinguish the importance.Therefore, we have always said that Miss Qiao is a fool, but in fact she has a shrewd account in her heart. Look at those artists who succumbed to the unspoken rules, how many of them successfully got into positions?People can not be popular, but they must not be stupid. At the same time, from the suicide incidents of these Korean artists, we can deeply feel the fierce competition in the Korean entertainment industry, which can almost reach the level of hand-to-hand combat.This is different from the Chinese market.The Chinese market is huge, you can sing the same song for 20 years without new songs or new films.In Korea, you must work hard to improve, otherwise, unless you change careers. So it's not difficult for you to imagine that a seemingly fragile little girl like Mei Qiao is constantly working hard, working hard, unwilling to make short dramas, and striving to become a TV star.Not only to be popular in China, but also to seek overseas development.South Korea is too small, and Korean artists all have a heart of cheating. For almost all Korean first-line stars, their keyword is: hard work.