Known for its ultra-competitive, pressure-cooker society, South Korea has one of the world’s highest suicide rates. And this week the even higher stresses in the country’s lucrative showbiz industry took their toll on a K-pop superstar. Kim Se-jeong, a popular K-pop singer, confessed she once slept a total of one hour for four days. Many are constantly chased by paparazzi and camera-touting fans who share or sell every single detail and image of the stars’ daily lives online for public scrutiny. Actress Park Jin-hee interviewed hundreds of actors and actresses for her master’s thesis in 2009 and said that 40 per cent had considered suicide at least once due to a lack of privacy, online bullying or unstable incomes.

Source: The Nation Bangkok December 22, 2017 18:00 UTC