On the 19th of February 2025, BBC Headline reads: “’Real life Squid Game’: Kim Sae-ron’s death exposes Korea’s celebrity culture”, a report by Kelly Ng.

From the article:

Actress Kim Sae-ron’s death in an apparent suicide has renewed criticism of South Korea’s entertainment industry, which churns out stars but also subjects them to immense pressure and scrutiny.

Kim – who was found dead aged 24 at her home in Seoul on Sunday – had been bombarded with negative press coverage and hate online after a drink-driving conviction in 2022. Police have not provided further details about her death.

Experts found the circumstances leading to it depressingly familiar. Other celebrities also ended up taking their lives after careers upended by cyberbullying.

As Kim was laid to rest on Wednesday, analysts say they are not optimistic her death will lead to meaningful change.

Hi, my name is Terence, and I’m your host for the Daily Monsoon, a podcast where I connect current events to matters of faith. Suicide in any form is disturbing but I think it is more troubling when it’s the young who are doing it, when they have a whole life ahead of them, and for some reason, they have decided that there is no longer any hope for them, and they just end it.

What is confounding for celebrity suicides is that they have worked so hard to get to where they are. But the fans who, in a sense, made them who they are, somehow think they own the life. There is something sick in society when the mob wields so much power to bully the individual to death, literally.

In the article, Korean culture critic Kim Hern-sik pointed out how cyber-bullying has become a money-making gig.

YouTubers get the views, forums get the engagement, news outlets get the traffic. I don’t think [Kim’s death] will change the situation. There needs to be harsher criminal punishment against leaving nasty comments.

All this reminds me of another famous woman who was hounded to death. Paparazzis hounded Princess Diana most of her life until one night, in trying to outrun them, the car she was on crashed and she and everyone in the car died.

That was a long time ago. And you would think that society would learn its lesson and know how to set boundaries and keep it. But then again, the argument is some celebrities are asking for it. They do publicity stunts, they want the press, even as they hate the media attention.

Now anyone with an internet connection is a media attention.
Anyone with Instagram is a paparazzi.
Anyone with Tiktok is the press.

If the celebrities know how toxic this can be, why don’t they just quit social media? And the sad thing is I don’t think they can.

They are the only reason why you can call yourself a celebrity. If the world leaves you alone, then you go back to what you were before, a nobody. And that seems to be a prospect worse than death.

I am not saying that it is the victim’s responsibility to handle it better. I am just trying to say that it’s better to kill social media, uninstall the damn apps, than to kill yourself.

Take the money and go.

People have done it before. There are Hollywood actors who just disappear into obscurity, to appear in YouTube videos, ten, twenty years later, “What happened to so and so?”

South Korean celebrities could start a new trend and go for the mysterious recluse. Just take what you have left and go. Don’t stay and give the power of life and death to the mob.

And for those people who use their words to drive people to despair, it’s worth considering what the Bible says here:

Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

It’s worth all of us to consider whether what comes out of our mouths, is it good for building up, does it give grace to those who hear?

Another verse from the Bible:

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

How many people have to die before we accept the truth of what the Bible says? Death and life are in the power of the tongue, may we all be more careful when we open our mouths.

This is the Daily Monsoon, a podcast where I connect current events to matters of faith. Thanks for listening. Bye bye.