Good lord, I thought I had my emotions in check for the last week with the shocking K-ent news of the suicide of SHINee member Jonghyun, but clearly death and one that comes much too early will always cut to the core. I’m only familiar with two SHINee members Minho and Onew due to their acting careers but knowing the pressure and struggles of K-ent the news of Jonghyun’s suicide feels like yet another beautiful young star sacrificed to the machine that spits them out. Jonghyun’s memorial and funeral took place all within three days as per Korean custom but today SHINee leader Onew finally updated his SNS account with a message and tribute to Jonghyun which made made burst out sobbing “Whomever you are, whatever you are doing, it doesn’t matter. Please remember this: there is someone out there who loves you more than you love yourself. I will always support you. I love you.” SOBS. I know Onew screwed majorly recently with a sexual harassment scandal claiming that he drunkenly groped a girl at a club and he’s apologized for it. Just on his message and love for Jonghyun – please be strong and I love his message which is not just to Jonghyun but to any person out there – remember that there is someone who loves you more than you know.
I cried even though im not a shinee fan but being into kpop in The early years i do watch shinee on variety shows and have always enjoy it. Jonghyun passing was such a shock. I hope his family and members and fans Will find The strength To continue, and always remember like onew Said someone out there loves you more than u love yourself??? onew look so broken at The funeral Im glad that he posted in his SNS soemthing positive and i hope he Will overcome this and live well…
Extremely powerful message not only directly to Jonghyun but to anyone who is going through depression. Thank you.
Onew himself has mentioned in passing about suffering from depression. There used to be a “milk club” of sm idols who were known to be depressed. Onew, Taeyeon, leeteuk, yoona… I’m sure there are many who have their own struggles.
Onew is someone who stays quiet and prefers to carry all burden by himself, he doesn’t give orders like a leader but listens and gives options as to what’ll be good to do. He debuted at 19 and gained 4 younger brothers. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they look up to onew and are more closer than family is. As a fan of almost 10 years, it both makes me concerned and proud. He’s one of the most competent leaders in kpop. And I can say that without being biased. Not just onew, I hope all 4 of them are taking care. I’ve never seen Minho break down and he’s one of the most strongest people I know. Taemin internalises his pain but I know he’s taking it hard too. Kibum’s letter gave me strength and calmed me down a bit, I hope they are taking care of themselves. I hope they aren’t blaming themselves for it.
That said, not everyone talks about depression or their struggles. Some prefer keeping it to themselves. You never know what someone is going through. Be kind is all I have to say.
Everyone keeps saying how there were “signs of Jonghyun’s depression” and “hid it behind his fake smile”. No, there were signs, he was blatant about it. He was very very open about his struggles. He was open about seeking help, he was open about being insomniac, he was open about his demons. Being depressed doesn’t mean there are never genuine moments of happiness. That doesn’t mean he was never happy, that doesn’t mean all his smiles were fake. I remember jonghyun as a soft spoken, kind, patient person. Apart from being incredibly talented, he was also a good human being. I’d the opportunity of attending his concert and fansign, it makes me sad that was my last time with him. He lived by his own principles and never hid himself. We all knew about his struggles, just that we thought he had the upper hand in all of this. We were so wrong. So so wrong.
It’s amazing how much a person can inspire by writing on their own demons. Even if the same demons were consuming them bit by bit. Rip. You did well, jonghyun. You worked hard.
If the “like” button were available on this site, I would have pressed it a thousand times on both your comments.
I’m praying for all of them honestly, that’s all I’ll say. At this point I personally don’t feel right analyzing Jonghyun or any of his loved ones left behind.