It’s with a heavy heart that we remember the incredibly lovely Miss Lee Eun Ju.
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the suicide of Korean actress Lee Eun-ju. Below is her performing her cover of the Corrs’ “Only When I Sleep” at the 2004 Blue Dragon Film Awards. This song was on the soundtrack to her final film, The Scarlet Letter (nothing to do with the Nathanial Hawthorne novel or 1995 film of the same titles) in which, ironically, her character took her own life in one of the movie’s final scenes. This November 2004 performance was probably the last, if not only, time she sang this song live.
Even though Miss Lee left a suicide note and reportedly had been suffering from depression at the time of her death, it wasn’t quite clear what in particular made the popular 24 year-old actress ultimately decided to take her own life. Those close to her have said the main factor involved, was the racy nude scenes she did in The Scarlet Letter.
Lee Eun-ju’s suicide marked the first of a succession of high-profile Korean celebrity suicides over the last decade. Some of the other notable ones were that of singer U;Nee, actress Jang Ja-yeon, actor and singer Park Yong-ha, and one of Korea’s top actresses, Choi Jin-sil, whose 20-year career and wholesome image earned her the honor of being dubbed “The Nation’s Actress.” All of the aforementioned hanged themselves, which has been the preferred method among Korean celebrities who have ended their own lives.
Above is the intense trunk scene from The Scarlet Letter, in which Lee Eun-ju’s character, Ga-hee, decides she wants to end her life after miscarrying. Her police detective lover, played by Han Suk-kyu, is unconcerned about the loss of the baby, but doesn’t want her to die and refuses to shoot her when she pleads for him to do so. It’s unclear, but it seems, rather than him finally obliging her, she does it herself. Four months after the film was released, Miss Lee committed suicide at her home in the affluent Bundang district of Seongnam. After a service where many Korean celebrities paid their respects, her ashes were enshrined in a crypt in Goyang, just north of Seoul.
Related Article: Korean Celebs’ Tragic Endings
Written by Chris Charles