Of course there are copycats after Choi Jin-sil's suicide.

The Joongang Ilbo says two women took their lives less than 24 hours after news of actress Choi Jin-sil's suicide broke, both in a similar manner to Choi. One of whom was a 55-year-old woman in Haenam county, Jeollanam-do, who went in for a shower and didn't come out.

The same thing happened when actor Ahn Jae-hwan took his own life last month, as copycats were found shortly thereafter. Not surprising when you have papers showing suicide aftermath photos (here, too), publishing details of the deaths, and televising star-studded funerals and weeping family members. "Funeral porn" around here, as The Chosun Bimbo calls it, in a country where public mourning is a requisite in many situations and which, I think, can only encourage others in a similar situation to seek the posthumous attention and pity they feel they lack now. It's doubtful the two young children Choi left behind will ever be in the mood for posthumous attention and pity, though, nor will the untold numbers of family members and friends left behind when people take their own lives. Not much talk about those personal and social consequences, not much copy devoted to that.

I'm not able enough, or awake enough, to put all of this into context or attempt thorough analysis, but I just want to pass along a couple of figures. I think the media might be a little more careful with the enthusiastic presentation of suicides and suicide victims, since South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OCED, in yet another dubious category in which this country leads the organization. Suicide is the fourth-leading cause of death in South Korea, which translates to 33 suicides a day, and suicide is the leading cause of death among people in their 20s to 30s. There's a collection of good reads on the topic from other bloggers at the bottom of this post.


Choi's mother at the funeral, from the Chosun Ilbo via Korea Beat.