Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Irish PM apologizes for walking away from care worker    Several dead as Storm Bert wreaks havoc across Britain    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Ukraine losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, says military source    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



K-pop singer decries cyber bullying after death of 'activist' star Sulli
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 16 - 10 - 2019

Sulli, a former South Korean singer-actress, was a rare taboo breaker in a world where K-pop stars' every move is strictly monitored by their management, but her death has exposed the dark side of the industry that propelled a global craze.
She unveiled her romantic relationship at the height of her career as a member of top girl group f(x) and was vocal about not wearing a bra, defying both the K-pop world's careful brand management and conservative social attitudes toward young women — and provoking a stream of online comment.
Before her death on Monday aged 25, Sulli, whose real name was Choi Jin-ri and who police said was suffering from severe depression, spoke out strongly against cyber bullying.
Colleagues and experts said her death revealed the constant barrage of malicious online comments faced by young female artists in the public eye.
"She wasn't just an issue-maker but I hope she will be remembered as a women's rights activist who was free-spirited, who could truly speak her mind," said Kwon Ji-an, a fellow South Korean singer and painter.
Sulli's most recent public appearance had been in a television program in which K-pop stars spoke about their experiences with malevolent online postings.
Kwon, 35, better known by her stage name Solbi, was also subjected to cyber insults in 2009, when she was a member of K-pop group Typhoon, after being wrongly identified in a sex video that went viral online.
The incident triggered intense depression, social phobia and panic disorder, Kwon said.
She sought therapy and learned painting, which was meant to be a way of "survival" but eventually became another career.
"I was too young and socially immature to digest all the glamour and changes in the environment, and there's no self-medication whatsoever," Kwon said.
"Then how do you respond to all of those vicious online comments? If you explain, they'll dismiss it as an excuse, and if you fight, they'll dislike you even more."
Kwon called for a change in the anonymous comment culture on the Internet, which critics has long blamed for cyber bullying.
In South Korea, local web portals such as Naver and Daum are a major channel of news consumption, which allow users to leave comments without revealing their real names.
In the wake of Sulli's death, fans flocked to the website of the presidential Blue House to file a petition urging the adoption of a real-name online comment system. A spate of related bills have for years been pending in parliament amid heated debate.
A poll by survey firm Realmeter released on Wednesday showed nearly 70 percent of South Koreans supported the scheme, while 24 percent opposed.
"The freedom of expression is a vital value in democratic society, but insulting and hurting someone else' dignity is beyond that limit," said Lee Dong-gwi, a psychology professor at Yonsei University in Seoul. "There need to be far harsher penalties for those who violate that law."
The number of cases of cyber defamation or insult has almost doubled from 2014-18, police data shows.
An association of South Korean entertainment management companies issued a statement on Wednesday vowing to pursue sterner legal action for "verbal violence" online.
Kwon has now found peace thanks, in part, to painting. When she released a new single album in 2017, she even sought to express her sufferings by dousing herself with black paint on the stage like a performance artist.
"I'd gotten treatment out of desperation that I really wanted to live," Kwon said. "I don't get hurt any more even though I see those malevolent online comments, but now is time to discuss it as a serious social issue." — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.