The death has been reported of Moonbin, a member of the K-Pop Boy band Astro. He was just 25. Apparently his body was found unresponsive in his apartment yesterday evening in an upmarket part of Seoul. No cause of death has been announced but it foolows that of a number of other K-Pop stars in recent years. In 2018 Minwoo of the band 100% died at home with the cause given as cardiac arrest although suicide was suspected. Three months earlier, Jonghyun the leader of the band SHINee is also suspected of having committed suicide aged 27. Two stars in female groups are also suspected of committing suicide after online bullying. In 2019 Goo Hara had also been abused by her boyfriend. Her death occured just a month after her friend and fellow K-Pop star Sulli was found dead.

Much as the world has fallen in love with K-Pop and each band has a huge host of followers, the pressure on these artists who are usually recruited in their early teens and then subjected to a gruelling routine of training and rehearsals while closed off from much of Korean society is wxtreme. The competition is more than intense. Few make it to the top with much knowledge outside their hermetic existence. The members of the worldwide sensation that is BTS are one of that few. Its members have now suspended their K-Pop work to do their mandatory military service.

Moonbin: photo The Chosunilbo JNS/ImaZins/Getty Images

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/20/moonbin-dies-k-pop-star-death-member-of-boy-band-astro-dead-aged-25

South Korea has a huge suicide problem in general. So I suppose it's not a surprise that it also is an issue in the KPOP world