As some of you may already know, early this month, top Korean actress Choi Jin-sil (above) committed suicide by hanging herself at her home in Seoul. She was 39. It was reported that she had suffered from depression since her 2002 separation, and messy divorce two years later, from her pro baseball player husband and was upset by recent rumors (she claimed were false) that she had loaned a large sum of money to an actor friend and was pressuring him to pay it back, which was a reason he committed suicide in early September. I suppose the alcohol she had to drink that evening also helped with her decision to take her own life.

Although Jin-sil’s death shocked many, it wasn’t the first time a high-profile female Korean entertainer has committed suicide in recent years.

In February 2005, top actress Lee Eun-joo hanged herself at her Seongnam apartment just a few days after she graduated from Dankook University. She was said to be suffering from depression and supposedly regretted some racy nude scenes she had done for her last movie The Scarlet Letter. Ironically, her character committed suicide at the end of that movie. I remember shortly after her death, a lot of video stores in Korea moved all DVD movies starring her to the front shelves. She was 24.

In January 2007, popular singer U;Nee [sic], who was featured here before, committed suicide by hanging herself at her home in Incheon. She had been receiving a rash of harsh comments by netizens about her overtly sexy image, which was believed to be a factor in her decision to end her own life. She had also been taking medication for depression and had just completed her third album Habit, at the time of her death. Her management company went ahead and released it as scheduled. She was 25.

In February 2007, actress Jung Da-bin, who had starred in some very popular TV shows, ended her own life by hanging herself at her boyfriend’s apartment after returning there from having dinner and drinks earlier that evening. She left no note but her final blog entry shortly before her death indicated that she was suffering from depression. She was 26.

Although not as well-know as the above mentioned ladies, transgender entertainer Jang Chae-won killed herself the day after Choi Jin-sil did, in the same manner, in what was believed to be a “copycat” suicide. Her last blog entry read; “I’m sorry mom, I’ll do better next time.” She was 26 and was often referred to as the next Harisu.

South Korea’s suicide rate is the one of the highest among developed countries and it seems that celebrity suicides there have become more common in recent years, with four occurring in just the last two years. Reasons given for this Korean “cultural phenomenon” have ranged all the way from the nation’s rapid economic growth changing the way Koreans regard life, to trauma caused by Internet rumors and written attacks.

My sympathies for the above ladies is limited (especially for Choi Jin-sil, who left her two young children to grow up without a mother) because they were more concerned about escaping their own pain than they were about the pain their deaths would cause their loved ones. As popular and successful as these women were, and showing no tell-tale signs to those close to them, it must now make one wonder if their favorite Korean entertainer could be next.

6-2012 Edit: For all further updates and a complete listing of Korean female celebs who have ended their own lives since this article was shared here, see the original article at Idol Features.