at the time but industrializing it to ensure a reliable supply of newer, younger stars when a group’s popularity wanes. The factory-like assembly line system of stars emerged in South Korea in the 1990s, taking cues from boy- and girl-bands popular in the U.S. Each was a product of a years-long training system run by management agencies, in which teenagers are trained and groomed to be molded into stars known as “idols” to sing catchy pop tunes and perform elaborate, synchronized dance routines. Sulli was 15 when she started performing as a member of the five-girl group f(x), and Goo just 17 when she made her debut as part of the band Kara. Some of them had been subject to the most intense scrutiny and harshest backlash for being young women who step outside the idealized roles circumscribed for them: those speaking their minds, expressing their sexuality, daring to even hint at being a feminist.īoth women had entered the K-pop industry as teenagers. K-pop is reeling from suspected suicides by beloved performers in recent years, as others in the industry are quitting or suspending their careers citing mental health struggles. The women took their own lives within the span of a few weeks this fall, according to police, after each had been at the center of a maelstrom of media coverage and online commentary about their personal lives.

On social media, she wrote in Korean: “ I need to speak up for myself, and say I have nothing to be ashamed of when I have nothing to be ashamed of.”Īs two of the biggest stars of K-pop, the meticulously produced, highly choreographed South Korean cultural export with legions of fans around the world - they saw their every word and action broadcast and picked apart.

Goo Hara defended herself against online harassment about a plastic surgery procedure to correct a drooping eyelid, and against an ex-boyfriend’s threat to go public with explicit images of her. She considered it her choice to appear in public without one if she felt like it. She found them constricting and felt more natural without one. By most measures, the young women weren’t exactly radical.

Maelstrom arena guide