This just in: Daul Kim, rising Korean supermodel-to-be, has killed herself in her Paris apartment.
Funny thing is that I had just used her case of being cyberbullied in my university class on "Understanding Korea through Pictures." Her response to the bullies was amazing, and I definitely gave her three "go girl!" snaps up in Z-formation. If that last reference means anything to ya'll younguns.
One wonders if pressure from people back in the muthaland contributed to her death, but given the common factor of cyberbullying being in so many cases of prominent Korean figures killing themselves, I have my suspicions. It's apropos, I guess, that we just finished talking about these cases in my lecture yesterday, the important of "chemyeon" in this rule-bound, neo-Confucian society, and how women are "socially disciplined" when they step out of line, e.g. the examples of "dog poop girl" or the social spectre of the "bean-paste girl." Combine that into suicide being the #1 cause of death for Koreans in their teens, twenties, and thirties, and you see some sort of pattern here.
I guess this is the sad end to the story arc, and a "teaching moment," I guess. I just wish the right people would get it and stop mercilessly attacking anyone who becomes famous or successful in this country. I'll let the post peace out with her words, which I hope future cyberbullies take to heart:
seriously korean ppl
stop bullying me
because
u know what
i have a life
i dont owe you anything
and you dont own me
i dont mean harm, and im just happy to share
my point of views or what i like, its not to offend or to be punk
i respect korean culture as much as possible
im proud to be korean
sometimes i can be ab noxious i know,
but nudity in fashion can't be considered ab noxious
ok did i ever have a dirty scandal? no
did i ever slut around ? no
is i-D porn? no
do you guys bitch when you see a Caucasian model nude?
a japanese girl nude? a black girl nude?
and when its korean girl nude, you guys get mad angry
and i can be blonde, red, pink haired if i want. im not trying to be anything else
i have every right to do what i want. if a white girl colours her hair black, do u say "oh shes trying to be asian"?
its so silly to restrict korean girl has to be a certain way
this is superiority complex and complex is not .... flattering
its 2009 , it aint the 70's we dont have 11pm curfew and skirt length regulations
Korea is Korea. its not the world...
and before im korean,
IM ME.
dont be sad or mad because i change
people change! and move on! i grew. and i wont ask you to change
but i AM going to ask for your understandings.
im not gonna say sorry for living my life..
