Lee Eun-ju
Encyclopedia
Lee Eun-ju was a South Korea
n actress. She died by suicide at the age of 24.
, Jeollabuk-do
, South Korea
, Lee moved to Seoul
after graduating high school to study acting. She was first noticed in the mid-1990s as a model for school uniforms, and after a number of television appearances she made her film debut in 1999 with Rainbow Trout. She went on to become a popular actress in Korea, starring in hit films such as Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors
, Lovers' Concerto
and Taegukgi
. She also starred in the very popular Korean drama
, The Phoenix, as well as The Scarlet Letter
, her final role.
, Lee died by suicide
at her apartment in Bundang
, Seongnam
. She was 24 years old. She slit her wrists and hanged
herself. The family blamed the suicide on severe bouts of depression and mental illness
, and said she had been suffering from insomnia
due to the nude scenes she had done in The Scarlet Letter.
She left a suicide note
scrawled in blood, in which she wrote, "Mum, I am sorry and I love you." A separate note said, "I wanted to do too much. Even though I live, I'm not really alive. I don't want anyone to be disappointed. It's nice having money... I wanted to make money."
Lee Eun-ju was cremated and enshrined in a crypt
at Goyang
. Hundreds of her fellow actors and entertainers attended her funeral. Vocalist Bada sang "You Were Born to be Loved" and her friends spoke in her memory.
Her friends and colleagues have held memorials for Lee every year since her passing. The 2007 event was marked by a music CD released in her name, featuring remastered versions of her cover performance of The Corrs
"Only When I Sleep
" from The Scarlet Letter
, as well as tribute performances by her friends in the entertainment industry.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n actress. She died by suicide at the age of 24.
Life and career
Born in GunsanGunsan
Gunsan is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is located on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. Gunsan is served by frequent railway service on the Gunsan Line from Iksan. It is also connected to the Seohaean Expressway.Kunsan Air Base...
, Jeollabuk-do
Jeollabuk-do
Jeollabuk-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Jeolla province, and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Lee moved to Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
after graduating high school to study acting. She was first noticed in the mid-1990s as a model for school uniforms, and after a number of television appearances she made her film debut in 1999 with Rainbow Trout. She went on to become a popular actress in Korea, starring in hit films such as Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors
Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors
Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors is a 2000 South Korean comedy-drama film, directed by Hong Sang-soo. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival....
, Lovers' Concerto
Lovers' Concerto (film)
Lovers' Concerto is a 2002 South Korean film directed by Lee Han. It is a romantic melodrama dealing with friendship, jealousy and the ties that bind.-Plot synopsis:...
and Taegukgi
Taegukgi (film)
Taegukgi Hwinallimyo is a 2004 South Korean war film directed by Kang Je-gyu. It tells the story about the effect of the Korean War on two brothers. The film's title is the name of the pre-war Flag of Korea as well as the postwar Flag of South Korea...
. She also starred in the very popular Korean drama
Korean drama
Korean drama refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries...
, The Phoenix, as well as The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter (2004 film)
The Scarlet Letter is a 2004 South Korean film about a police detective who investigates a murder case while struggling to hang onto his relationships with his wife and mistress. The film debuted as the closing film of the Pusan International Film Festival in 2004...
, her final role.
Death
On the night of February 22, 2005, only a few days after her graduation from Dankook UniversityDankook University
Dankook University is a private university in South Korea. Dankook University has been constantly recognized as one of top universities in Asia ranked 148th in Asia by QS Asian Universities Ranking in 2010...
, Lee died by suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at her apartment in Bundang
Bundang
Bundang is the southernmost district of Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. In addition to being the most populous part of the city, it also has the status of being one of the wealthiest regions in Gyeonggi Province...
, Seongnam
Seongnam
Seongnam is the second largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi province after Suwon and the 9th largest city in the country, with a population of nearly 1 million...
. She was 24 years old. She slit her wrists and hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
herself. The family blamed the suicide on severe bouts of depression and mental illness
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
, and said she had been suffering from insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
due to the nude scenes she had done in The Scarlet Letter.
She left a suicide note
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
scrawled in blood, in which she wrote, "Mum, I am sorry and I love you." A separate note said, "I wanted to do too much. Even though I live, I'm not really alive. I don't want anyone to be disappointed. It's nice having money... I wanted to make money."
Lee Eun-ju was cremated and enshrined in a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
at Goyang
Goyang
Goyang is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Goyang includes the new city of Ilsan, which is connected to Seoul via Seoul Subway Line 3. Goyang is bordered by Seoul to the south; walls of the Bukhan Mountain Fortress lie along a small portion of this border.Several institutions of higher...
. Hundreds of her fellow actors and entertainers attended her funeral. Vocalist Bada sang "You Were Born to be Loved" and her friends spoke in her memory.
Her friends and colleagues have held memorials for Lee every year since her passing. The 2007 event was marked by a music CD released in her name, featuring remastered versions of her cover performance of The Corrs
The Corrs
The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .The Corrs came to international prominence with their performance at the...
"Only When I Sleep
Only When I Sleep
"Only When I Sleep" is a single by Celtic folk rock band The Corrs from their album Talk on Corners, released in October 1997. The song focuses on one's secret feelings for another being prevalent whilst dreaming...
" from The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter (2004 film)
The Scarlet Letter is a 2004 South Korean film about a police detective who investigates a murder case while struggling to hang onto his relationships with his wife and mistress. The film debuted as the closing film of the Pusan International Film Festival in 2004...
, as well as tribute performances by her friends in the entertainment industry.
Film
- Rainbow Trout (1999, Song-o)
- Virgin Stripped Bare by Her BachelorsVirgin Stripped Bare by Her BachelorsVirgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors is a 2000 South Korean comedy-drama film, directed by Hong Sang-soo. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival....
(2000, Oh! Soo-jung) - Bloody BeachBloody BeachBloody Beach is a 2000 South Korean horror film starring Kim Hyun Jung and Jae Hee.-Synopsis:A group of chat room buddies decide to meet together in person on the beach for some fun in the sun...
(2000, Haebyeoneuro gada) - Bungee Jumping of Their OwnBungee Jumping of Their OwnBungee Jumping of Their Own is a 2001 South Korean film starring Lee Byung-hun and Lee Eun-ju. It was selected to appear in the 2002 Frameline Film Festival and the 2004 Korean Film Festival DC.- Plot :...
(2001, Beonjijeompeureul hada) - Lovers' ConcertoLovers' Concerto (film)Lovers' Concerto is a 2002 South Korean film directed by Lee Han. It is a romantic melodrama dealing with friendship, jealousy and the ties that bind.-Plot synopsis:...
(2002, Yeonae sosheol) - Unborn But ForgottenUnborn But ForgottenUnborn But Forgotten is a 2002 South Korean film directed by Im Chang-jae. Due to its plotline the film has been compared to both The Ring and FeardotCom.- Plot :...
(2002, Hayanbang) - Garden of HeavenGarden of HeavenGarden of Heaven is a 2003 South Korean film starring Ahn Jae-wook and Lee Eun-joo.- Plot :Oh-sung, a doctor at a hospice facility, is emotionally scarred by the experience of losing his parents as a child. One night he meets Young-ju, a make-up artist who has been diagnosed with terminal stomach...
(2003, Haneul jeongwon) - Au Revoir, UFOAu Revoir, UFOAu Revoir, UFO is a 2004 South Korean film. It was one of the final films made by Lee Eun-ju before her suicide in 2005.- Plot :...
(2004, Annyeong UFO) - BrotherhoodTaegukgi (film)Taegukgi Hwinallimyo is a 2004 South Korean war film directed by Kang Je-gyu. It tells the story about the effect of the Korean War on two brothers. The film's title is the name of the pre-war Flag of Korea as well as the postwar Flag of South Korea...
(2004, Taegukgi) - The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter (2004 film)The Scarlet Letter is a 2004 South Korean film about a police detective who investigates a murder case while struggling to hang onto his relationships with his wife and mistress. The film debuted as the closing film of the Pusan International Film Festival in 2004...
(2004, Juhong geulshi)
TV drama
- Start (1997)
- White Nights 3.98White Nights 3.98White Nights 3.98 is a 1998 SBS television series based on a novel by Han Tae Hoon-Cast:*Choi Min Soo as Kwon Taek Hyeong*Lee Byung Hun as Min Gyeong Bin*Shim Eun Ha as Anastashia*Lee Jung Jae as Lee Yeong Jun*Jin Hee Kyung as Oh Seong Shim...
(1998) - KAIST (1999)
- The Phoenix (2004)