Park Yong-ha discovered dead at home
by javabeans
Breaking news: Park Yong-ha was discovered dead at his Nonhyun-dong, Seoul, home on the morning of June 30. I’ll update with details if/as they become available.
I am in utter shock. WHAT?
Park Yong-ha died at the age of 32, having debuted fifteen years ago in youth shows like KBS’s 1995 Love Blossoms in the Classroom and 1996’s Start. He shot to fame with 2002’s Winter Sonata, which made him a household name and a “Hallyu star.” He used that fame as a springboard a singing career in Japan, where he enjoyed quite a lot of popularity. He had a successful drama hit in 2008’s On Air, and totally stole my heart in 2009’s Story of a Man, which is one of my favorite dramas EVER.
Most recently, Park Yong-ha was cast alongside Yoon Eun-hye in the high-profile drama remake of Hong Kong film Tian Mi Mi, tentatively titled Love Song.
This is just… awful. Horrible and unexpected. Currently they are not ruling this a suicide, but that’s the foremost presumption.
UPDATE
- The evening prior to his death (29th), Park missed a meeting with drama producers for his upcoming project Love Song. His manager couldn’t get in contact with him.
- One producer said that they had seen Park occasionally in a down mood, but attributed it to news of Park’s father suffering from cancer. His father recently moved back home from the hospital after his stomach cancer was deemed late-stage.
- Park reportedly died from hanging. He was found by his mother in his room with a cell phone cord around his neck.
- Around 12:40 am, he was with his father, massaging his father’s legs. Park told him “I’m sorry” over and over. He then went into his room, where he was found in the morning.
- Producers of Love Song are “in panic mode” because Park’s passing leaves them without a lead. Yeah, eff you producers.
- Park had said in an interview that he suffered from depression, which was exacerbated by prolonged promotional activities abroad.
- One friend says, “There’s no way to know the real reason, but when I met Park a few months ago, he seemed depressed.” His father’s illness made things worse.
- Park’s Story of a Man co-star Park Shi-yeon (currently acting in Coffee House) reportedly received a “huge shock” from the news and “is in very bad condition.” She is so distraught that there’s concern she won’t be able to continue filming.
- Park Shi-yeon spoke with Park on the phone yesterday, but thought he sounded normal.
- And the media frenzy begins. That photo is from outside Park’s home.
- The parade of celebrity visits is also just beginning, with stars coming to pay their respects to Park, whose body was transferred to a Kangnam hospital. It’s morning in Korea now, and this will likely continue all day. I won’t be posting on it, but you can rest assured there’ll be plenty of media there as well.
- His death is even more perplexing because he had made plans to meet friends later in the day.
- Park’s last phone call (or one of his last) was reportedly with DBSK’s Hero Jaejoong, with whom he’d grown closer as he gave the latter advice about pursuing singer activities in Japan. Jaejoong is currently recording in the U.S. and said, “I spoke with him on the phone yesterday, and his voice sounded so bright. I didn’t feel he was at all different from his normal self. We agreed to have a drink together when I got back to Korea. I’m in such shock.”
- Park’s last twitter message was posted Saturday the 26th (http://twitter.com/yonaaaaaa) and was about the World Cup. “We lost. But they did well. clap clap clap~ Everyone, let’s clap with warm hears for our national soccer team, who return with heavy steps. Good job!!”
- Park had just come back from a tour in Japan. The day before that (the 25th), he tweeted, “How could they know to come to the airport and see me, and at such a late hour? ^^ I didn’t tell anyone but how could they know? keke. Impressive~ Anyway, thank you for coming to see me!! Tomorrow at the concert I’ll have to ask, ‘Who came to the airport yesterday?~~’ keke See you tomorrow ^^”
- In an interview last year while promoting his movie The Scam, Park said, “I’ve suffered from insomnia for the last ten years. I’m rather sensitive. If something bothers me I can’t sleep until it’s resolved.” He added, “I’m envious of people who can sleep well. I think sleep is needed for good mental health.”
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Tags: deaths, Park Yong-ha
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101 jully moue
June 29, 2010 at 5:02 PM
why. i don't understand.
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102 xiaoSxin
June 29, 2010 at 5:03 PM
if Park Shi Yeon is in reported in shock of the news and is currently " in a very bad condition", i could not even fathom to feel how his parents and family must be going through right now.
I hope you are at peace now and hot hurting anymore, and may those who love you overcome this tragedy in due time, become stronger and love each other more.
For everyone,
Each of us has our own struggles in life, we have our own demons to face and we have our own problems. Each may be different in complexity, gravity and circumstances, but I believe suicide should not be an option for anybody as an answer to their problem. It is not an answer but a momentarily escape to oblivion, before we face our judgement of how we lived our lives here on earth. I respect everybody's faith does not really resemble my own or reciprocate these thoughts that I have. At least let me share this to you all.
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103 rickjohn
June 29, 2010 at 5:04 PM
wth...im speechless
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104 Noor
June 29, 2010 at 5:04 PM
I am in utter shock. WHAT?
me too !
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105 eljay
June 29, 2010 at 5:04 PM
My heart is crying......
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good. "
by W.H.Auden
My deepest and sincerest condolences to his family and friends. Peace, Park Yong-ha.
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106 asea
June 29, 2010 at 5:06 PM
=( ... I'm speechless .. this is so sad. So young... So talented. There still so many things that he could have done in his live. Depression is a very mysterious disease, it can happen to anyone --even successful one like him--
But everyone has their own problem. I wouldn't judge, other people wouldn't understand what he's been through.
My friend suffered from depression few years ago. As a strange twist of event, she is studying psychology, she noticed it herself that there's something very wrong happening and she need professional help.
=( hopefully there's more awareness about depression in the future. It is hard to identify, let alone to other people, the sufferer themselves might not know what is happening too
Rest in peace. My deepest condolences to the friends and family.
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107 belleza
June 29, 2010 at 5:06 PM
"if Park Shi Yeon is in reported in shock of the news and is currently ” in a very bad condition”
Park Shi Yeon would qualify as a "survivor of suicide." Because she had spoken to him the day before, it's possible that she's dealing with HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE feelings of guilt, shock, etc. It kills something in you. Park Yong Ha's family, moreso.
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108 diane
June 29, 2010 at 5:06 PM
What?! I couldn't believe the head caption. I am having a hard time with this. I thought him to be so talented. I will miss him. Loved him in Story of a Man.
I pray that he has found peace and his spirit is free.
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109 flo
June 29, 2010 at 5:07 PM
the question is why so many actors and actress choose suicide? entertainment so pressuring in korea?
i was si trilled about his next drama...it is just unbelievable! please wake me up!
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110 Ahjummoni
June 29, 2010 at 5:07 PM
can I blame the lacking of a family in klala world...and I don't mean mom and dad.... at amost 40 you kinda expect your parents to die because we are not forever... they should re-think their whole policy of unwedded stars...he is not first and not the last one to do it... these ppl are working sometimes 18 hours a day... without any support... and don't tel me that mom and dad facing their own problems could be there for you anytime
on the other hand if he realy suicided ...he was too cruel with his parents....
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111 soiia
June 29, 2010 at 5:09 PM
I don't understand anything about this. How I wish the media made a mistake so this post is not true =( And here I was all happy and excited about his upcoming drama.
Rest in Peace Park Yong-ha.
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112 jeanie65jh
June 29, 2010 at 5:09 PM
Oh my... I can't try to understand the depth of someone else's pain. I don't understand the wave of Korean stars who feel this is their only out or answer. All I can do is feel deep sadness for their families and the loss of great talent and most especially for the waste of life. So young. So sad. Story of A Man is one of the best dramas I've seen. What a tragic loss. Wow....
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113 daisytwenties
June 29, 2010 at 5:10 PM
OH NO. D:
This is just terrible.
My heart goes out to his family.
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114 Ahjummoni
June 29, 2010 at 5:11 PM
my jaw hit the floor when I saw he was born in '77...
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115 SuKEJunpyo
June 29, 2010 at 5:13 PM
What!!!
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116 Lala
June 29, 2010 at 5:13 PM
I am speechless all I can think to say is Rest In Peace and may heaven look kindly upon you there is no more pain.
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117 nora
June 29, 2010 at 5:15 PM
Part of the reason why so may suicide attack among celebrities in Korea, u can read this article.
What made South Korean celebrities suicidal?
'South Korea, the world’s most wired nation, has vibrant Internet portals and chat rooms where freedom of speech is given free reign. But it also has a dark side: rumours and cyber bullying are rife'.
http://imaginarylands.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/suicide-att
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118 chll51
June 29, 2010 at 5:16 PM
This is unbelievable. What's going on with the amount of deaths surrounding celebrities these days? I hate how friends always say, oh they were depress before the suicide. Shit. If they're depressed, help them. Don't come out later and say that they notice their friend was sad and whatnot. I pray that his family will get some peace. Poor his parents, especially his dad. May he find peace as well.
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119 abyan
June 29, 2010 at 5:18 PM
i dont know what to say ,,,, why always suicide in korea entertaimant ppl idont get this this fucking crazy and shock too i feel sorry for his mom ,suicide ,i cant take this no i wonder why hollywood goes rehab korea need help dammm
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120 Nancy
June 29, 2010 at 5:18 PM
WTF.....is this???? OMG I am in utter shock! I was so elated that he was acting with YEH and then to see this!!! OMG..OMG...OMG....I can't believe it! His friends are all in shock in right now just like we are....I don't even know what to say.. :( :(
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121 sam
June 29, 2010 at 5:20 PM
@105 eljay. That poem starts me crying. I was SO looking forward to PYH drama with YEH.
RIP Park Yong Ha.
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122 ILoveGHS
June 29, 2010 at 5:20 PM
why? I'm so shock... so sad.
Rest in Peace PYH.
Condolences to his family.
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123 Valentina
June 29, 2010 at 5:21 PM
RIP Park Yong Ha
so sad
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124 thunderbolt
June 29, 2010 at 5:22 PM
*tears* My deepest condolences to his family.
Rest in Peace, Park Yong-ha.
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125 moana
June 29, 2010 at 5:22 PM
RIP park yong-ha. he was a great talent--the best one in ON AIR and i loved him in 'story of a man'.
what is the place of psychotherapy/psychiatry/depression meds in korean culture? are there so many with depression who go about their lives untreated?
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126 hula87
June 29, 2010 at 5:24 PM
This is one of the times that I really wish we can turn back time.. He's gone too soon.. I really don't know what else to say.
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127 Trishia Mallari
June 29, 2010 at 5:24 PM
OMG. i'm in a total shocked. i just read the news about him having the lead role with Yoon eun hye an hour ago..and researched about his drams or movies..after i ate my breakfast..i refresh the blog..then he is found DEAD oh come on! :( that is so sad. :(
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128 v
June 29, 2010 at 5:24 PM
:O
WHAT THE....!!!
I did NOT expect this... and i have to say that this is the first celebrity death that affected me this much... i was never a fan of him but i am really fond of him... i grew to like him more and more through his career and when I thought i was finally ready to really truly like him.. this happens.
OMO... i'm still in shock.. i think i need some time before i write anything coherent..
YY
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129 irene
June 29, 2010 at 5:24 PM
OMG, i'm not a big fans of him but I did watch his drama.. I'm so eager to see his new darma with Eun-Hye.. it is really awful!!!!!!! I'm still in SHOCK!
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130 Liz
June 29, 2010 at 5:26 PM
So sad! I am in shock! I can't believe this. He was great in Story of a Man. I wanted to see more of his work. Sadly, he's gone now. Rest in Peace Park Yong-ha.
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131 Rae
June 29, 2010 at 5:26 PM
Oh my gosh. I can't believe this! Poor Park Yong-Ha.
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132 rainerust
June 29, 2010 at 5:26 PM
....WHAT.
... My brain is still trying to process this. It's heart breaking, some of these suicides (and attempts). For all its successes, the Korean entertainment industry has also had its fair share of failures, one of the most prominent I think is the lack of care for the people who have contributed to its successes - their celebrities. It's almost shocking how many of these people have committed (or tried to commit) suicide. Isn't anyone listening?
(Okay, I always get depressed at Auden's poems, but everytime I read Funeral Blues...I can't shake off the fact that he was writing it for a lover, so it somehow reads wrongly into this context...but yeah. Sentiments prevail.)
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133 Eeefu
June 29, 2010 at 5:26 PM
We lost too many previous lives to depressions already. I hope he's not a victim of harassment of some sort.
Park Yong Ha, I will miss you.
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134 yen_nguyen
June 29, 2010 at 5:27 PM
Yesterday I typed I want to see him pared with YEH in Love Song.
Today I read this shock news.
He goes forever, no more drama, no more life
...
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135 sweetyo0on
June 29, 2010 at 5:28 PM
oh no. at loss for what to say....
nothing saddens me more than suicide.
being so desperate, upset and angry at life....
that they would choose to end their own life with their own hands....
one would think with a great drama signed on and friends.....
imagine the fathers shcok and emotions.
omg.
rest in peace....park yong hwa.
who stole my heart in winter sonata. i always loved him better than bae yong joon.
who made me smile with his bickering with oh yoona in on air.
im going to miss you a lot.
my condolences go out to his family.
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136 more
June 29, 2010 at 5:29 PM
WTF IS GOING ON IM IN SHOCK
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137 Nafiza
June 29, 2010 at 5:30 PM
This is so tragic.
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138 seikatsu
June 29, 2010 at 5:31 PM
I'm in total shock and this definitely saddens me. May he rest in peace. The news is so unexpected that it moves me to tear.
My condolences for his parents and family and hope you would be comforted in time.
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139 cute.dork
June 29, 2010 at 5:31 PM
WHAT! NO WAY..i am in complete shock!
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140 okdubu
June 29, 2010 at 5:34 PM
I OPEN MY BROWSER and the first thing i see is all this news about park yongha and omg.... so so so so so sad ;______; rest in peace<3
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141 cille
June 29, 2010 at 5:34 PM
1st reaction: is the title right?
2nd reaction: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!
3rd reaction: my whole body went numb
i can't believe it. park yong-ha is such an awesome artist and he was getting better and better with his acting.
PARK YONG-HA, may you rest in peace. and may the family you've left behind be comforted that you are now at a better place.
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142 lei
June 29, 2010 at 5:35 PM
oh god, this is so sad. i have not seen any of his dramas but i've seen the posts here and thought he was talented and well liked. really sorry for his family, friends and fans.
RIP park yong ha
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143 ripgal
June 29, 2010 at 5:35 PM
This is horrible horrible news.
RIP and prayers to his family and friends.
Sighs, something needs to be done to help Korean Entertainment.
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144 serendipity
June 29, 2010 at 5:36 PM
Sad news. And so saddening.
Despair is so much to be pitied. People who are depressed have no control over their emotions. And as we know, sometimes our emotions just take over our rational thoughts, regardless of logic or external circumstances. It's true that some thing are known to make depression worse and trigger suicidal thoughts (e.g., stress; but NOT how suicide is depicted on tv!) But essentially the nature of depression is that it's not logical and it can lead to overwhelming, unbearable despair.
I don't suffer from depression myself, but I do know of depressed people who have taken their lives. And I have a close friend who is depressed, and I live in real fear of getting a phone-call one day telling me that she has been found hanging in her home. Not because she is a weak person (she is not; she is very strong). Not because she doesn't have friends (she has many, including myself, who know she is depressed and support her). Not because she is a stupid person (she is one of the smartest people I know). Not because she is wicked or callous (she is someone I can honestly describe as a thoughtful and spiritual person). Not because she has an awful life (her life isn't too bad right now; her career is doing fine and her family is doing ok). Not because she's ignorant about depression (she is very aware and has been getting professional help but it doesn't "cure" her). But because depression can push one over the edge. I have seen for myself that when she is moderately depressed she isn't herself and she can barely summon the energy to get herself out of bed to face the day. I can well see that if she gets more depressed and if life gets harder, she will keep soldiering on day by day, fighting afresh each morning to face another day, but one day she might just fail to summon the energy to fight anymore. And if she is ever so desperate and so drained that she takes the only way out that she can see, I will weep for her, not judge her or rail at her.
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145 fadedjean
June 29, 2010 at 5:38 PM
I don't even know what to think. I've liked him ever since I saw him in 우리는 길잃은 작은 새들을 보았다. I watched Loving You for him. I watched Winter Sonata for him. I loved his song in All-in. He was my favorite character from On Air. Story of a Man was his best work yet. He was planning to act with Yoon Eun-hye... and now this?
Poor, poor Park Yong-ha.
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146 Brittany
June 29, 2010 at 5:39 PM
How tragic. :( My deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.
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147 Dele
June 29, 2010 at 5:39 PM
I came to school and my co-teacher told me, and I was like no freaking way, this can't be the same Park Yong-ha. I went straight here, and sadly it is true. I was sad, but now I feel so angry about it. I don't even know why I am so angry but I am.
Even still, reat in peace, rest in heavenly peace, the way you didn't get to in life. I pray for your family, friends, and fans left behind to remember your life and not your death. Man, this is just sad. I really hope this doesn't start another chain reaction of suicides. It happens to often in Korea. It's raining here in Seoul today, as if all the tears from everywhere are falling down fro him. Ahhhhhhhh...this just sucks...
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148 ockoala
June 29, 2010 at 5:41 PM
For those of you who have not watched a Park Yong Ha drama, check out On Air. Not because it's his best, it's not, but because he's the happiest in there. I will always remember that him.
I posted a tribute to him at wordpress, ockoala, explaining why I personally love him as an actor. Its impossible to do anything other than treasure his contributions to his profession.
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149 Taber
June 29, 2010 at 5:41 PM
They won't show a open mouth kiss on drama but they always using suicide as a option to solve they problems. What kind of message are you sending to people. It's crazy how I see in every damm drama Let's die together, I'm going to kill myself, I'm not going to eat for 3 days. It's really sad that this is acceptable when it obvious too many people take this option seriously. These country need to really focus on why they the citizens are so miserable, they could start with respect automatically giving due to age and not earn due to a person character and actions, the hash judgment of a person base on they social status, the lack of parents or being a single parent and many other stupid things that they use to determine a person self worth! A person worth should not come down to those components, it just crazy.
I have always stated that the country is oppressed in they values and views. They dropping like flies because you can be destroy and disgrace because you dating, or if you gambled, if get a person too sleep with you by whisper sweet nothing in her ear, it freakin ridiculous. The country is ran by the people who are infected with extreme amount self righteous which has cause a outbreak the side effect LIVING HELL! Sadly I don't see a change any time soon for many of these country. They would continue to hide behind the word conservative and respect, in reality they don't have any of that for each other or others. Park Yong-ha is a tragi lost but so are the many unnamed people, who decide that death is better then living.
I don't feel right about this, it just don't feel right. Why would you take your life before your father death? It's seem obvious that he had great love for his father to be effect by his illness to the point of depression, so why would he give his father this incredible pain of bury him first? This don't make any kind of sense, my blessing go out too his family and friends.
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150 ... :-(
June 29, 2010 at 5:43 PM
only those who's suffering from depression can understand the depth of his pain...
one cannot fathom how unbearable it is, feeling extremely lonely everyday.. waking up each morning on the other side of your bed discovering your world is still the same, without colors.
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