Only When She Died, People Started to Love Her

Sulli’s death was announced on October 14, 2019 by various South Korean mainstream medias and publications. Her personal manager found Sulli’s corpse hung up on the roof of her house after being unable to contact her. The police are currently in the process of finding more evidence about her suicide, including possible suicide letters. No conclusions have been drawn as to the reason behind her suicide, but the public assumed that Sulli chose to commit suicide due to the hate comments (악플in Korean). 

Sulli, whose real name was Jin Li Choi, debuted back in September as a member of a K-Pop group called f(x). After 6 years, she left the group due to alleged health issues. The public knew that she left the group because of anxiety and depression that were caused by negative comments on the internet. Her disappearance from the group, however, did not stop her from receiving massive hate. There are people shaming almost every Instagram post with Sulli, especially for the reasons of being too sexual and inappropriate. After a few years with small appearances on television shows, she decided to take on a variety show called The Night of Hate Comments in 2019. On this show, she brought up hate comments that were directed towards her in the past. The audience presumed that she had moved past worrying about hate comments. Many fans were proud of her for not clinging onto the hate comments and happy to see her mental health getting better. 

Previously, Sulli was “slut shamed” by Korean netizens for posting weird and ambiguous pictures on her Instagram. Before Sulli’s death, she was countlessly called a whore, a prostitute, and even as an attention seeker. She has posted photos of dolls with broken arms and selfies of herself looking tired—which caused many people to call her out for trying to be erotic. Netizens have called her pictures of dolls without arms an allusion to Lolita, shaming her for posting inappropriate and sexual content. Sulli received massive hate for her posts prior to her death, but after her death, people are speculating whether or not those pictures were simply symbolizing her unwillingness to live. Her selfies, which caused her to be slut shamed, are now understood as a sign of Sulli’s anxiety and depression. 

The most ironic thing about her death is how fast the public’s stance on Sulli changed. Haters who commented negative afflictions about Sulli before her death are now commenting signs of support and sympathy. Moreover, some are even calling out other haters for being the cause of Sulli’s death. Where is the justice in haters calling out other haters?

What is more disturbing is the fact that reporters of major publications were desperately trying to take pictures of Sulli’s corpse as the body was being transported out of her house. Was this a disrespectful action towards Sulli and her family?

In conclusion, Sulli’s death reveals a toxic side of Korean society and the power of the media. What are your thoughts on Sulli’s death and the haters?