Trolled by Ultra Conservaties Gay Korean K-Pop Super Star Jonghyum of SHINee Commits Suicide
Police told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that Jonghyun was found unconscious at an apartment in Seoul on Monday night. He was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. Authorities believe Jonghyun’s death may have been a suicide as he sent a “last goodbye” text message to his sister earlier in the day.
After the news broke, Jonghyun’s fellow K-pop singers took to social media. “I can’t believe it… The first time I went to Korea, the weather was very cold then. The first time I went to a broadcast station, I heard the song ‘Hot Times’ for the first time. It left such a beautiful memory,” former EXO member Tao wrote on Instagram. “Because of that stage, that song, I wanted to quickly go onto the stage myself and wanted to start practicing. Thank you for being my strength. … Right now my feelings are just… impossible to describe.”
There are reports he had been a subject of bullying by the extreme right
Korean singer-songwriter Kim Jonghyun of the popular K-pop boy band SHINee died on Monday night (Dec. 18) in Seoul, confirms his label SM Entertainment. The star was 27.
The Korea Herald reports that Kim, known by his given name professionally, was rushed to the hospital Monday evening when he was found unconscious. He was discovered after his sister contacted Seoul police following texts from the singer that pertained to a “last goodbye." A medical team arrived on the scene and performed CPR, but the artist was pronounced dead upon arriving at a Seoul hospital.
Police are investigating the death as a suicide due to charcoal being found in the rented guestroom the singer was staying at the time of his passing, reports Korean news show JTBC Newsroom.
Since beginning his career as the lead singer of SHINee in 2008, Jonghyun’s distinctly breathy vocal colors have defined some of the K-pop group’s biggest hits, including “View” and their most recent Korean single, last year’s “Tell Me What To Do.” As early as 2009, the star was credited with co-writing much of SHINee's music, and by 2013 he began to expand his songwriting. Over the past few years, he's written for acts under the SM label, including fellow SHINee member Taemin and the popular boy band EXO, and also worked with some of Korea's most popular female vocalists, including IU, Son Dambi, Uhm Jung Hwa and Lee Hi.
Along with lending his voice to several television show soundtracks and collaborating with other Korean singers, Jonghyun released his first EP in 2015, Base. That same year, he released his first compilation album Story Op. 1, which was followed by Story Op.2 this past April. The artist also released one LP, She Is, in 2016. Through these albums, he explored a blend of dance music, pop rock, alt R&B, and retro-tinged jazz, and crafted a distinct identity for himself as a soloist separate from SHINee’s experimental take on K-pop.
Jonghyun made frequent appearances on Billboard’s World Albums chart after Base debuted at No. 1 upon its release, while all of his following albums appeared within the top 10 spots. He also ranked twice on the Heatseekers Albums chart, which is less frequently populated by Korean artists: both Base and She Is peaked at No. 20. His final album with SHINee, the Japanese-language Five, debuted at No. 3 on Japan’s Oricon chart in March.
The Korean singer's most recently released a solo single, "Lonely," featuring Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, came out in April. Following his passing, the song reappeared on Korean music charts as fans commemorated his loss and life. Fans also took to social media to mourn, with over 5.2 million mentions of Jonghyun appearing on Twitter within 12 hours of his death.
Over the near-decade of his career as one of South Korea’s most prominent pop stars, Jonghyun became known for his frank approach to the K-pop industry and used his platform as a public persona to speak up about LGBTQ+ inequality and political discontent in South Korea. His unique artistic color is a loss to the entire greater K-pop music community.
Jonghyun’s final public appearance took place at his solo concert Inspired,held in Seoul from Dec. 9-10, and he recently recorded for the popular Korean television show Night Goblin. Yonhap reports that he was working on new music ahead of his passing.
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