Park Yong-ha discovered dead at home
by javabeans
Breaking news: Park Yong-ha was discovered dead at his Nonhyun-dong, Seoul, home on the morning of June 30. I’ll update with details if/as they become available.
I am in utter shock. WHAT?
Park Yong-ha died at the age of 32, having debuted fifteen years ago in youth shows like KBS’s 1995 Love Blossoms in the Classroom and 1996’s Start. He shot to fame with 2002’s Winter Sonata, which made him a household name and a “Hallyu star.” He used that fame as a springboard a singing career in Japan, where he enjoyed quite a lot of popularity. He had a successful drama hit in 2008’s On Air, and totally stole my heart in 2009’s Story of a Man, which is one of my favorite dramas EVER.
Most recently, Park Yong-ha was cast alongside Yoon Eun-hye in the high-profile drama remake of Hong Kong film Tian Mi Mi, tentatively titled Love Song.
This is just… awful. Horrible and unexpected. Currently they are not ruling this a suicide, but that’s the foremost presumption.
UPDATE
- The evening prior to his death (29th), Park missed a meeting with drama producers for his upcoming project Love Song. His manager couldn’t get in contact with him.
- One producer said that they had seen Park occasionally in a down mood, but attributed it to news of Park’s father suffering from cancer. His father recently moved back home from the hospital after his stomach cancer was deemed late-stage.
- Park reportedly died from hanging. He was found by his mother in his room with a cell phone cord around his neck.
- Around 12:40 am, he was with his father, massaging his father’s legs. Park told him “I’m sorry” over and over. He then went into his room, where he was found in the morning.
- Producers of Love Song are “in panic mode” because Park’s passing leaves them without a lead. Yeah, eff you producers.
- Park had said in an interview that he suffered from depression, which was exacerbated by prolonged promotional activities abroad.
- One friend says, “There’s no way to know the real reason, but when I met Park a few months ago, he seemed depressed.” His father’s illness made things worse.
- Park’s Story of a Man co-star Park Shi-yeon (currently acting in Coffee House) reportedly received a “huge shock” from the news and “is in very bad condition.” She is so distraught that there’s concern she won’t be able to continue filming.
- Park Shi-yeon spoke with Park on the phone yesterday, but thought he sounded normal.
- And the media frenzy begins. That photo is from outside Park’s home.
- The parade of celebrity visits is also just beginning, with stars coming to pay their respects to Park, whose body was transferred to a Kangnam hospital. It’s morning in Korea now, and this will likely continue all day. I won’t be posting on it, but you can rest assured there’ll be plenty of media there as well.
- His death is even more perplexing because he had made plans to meet friends later in the day.
- Park’s last phone call (or one of his last) was reportedly with DBSK’s Hero Jaejoong, with whom he’d grown closer as he gave the latter advice about pursuing singer activities in Japan. Jaejoong is currently recording in the U.S. and said, “I spoke with him on the phone yesterday, and his voice sounded so bright. I didn’t feel he was at all different from his normal self. We agreed to have a drink together when I got back to Korea. I’m in such shock.”
- Park’s last twitter message was posted Saturday the 26th (http://twitter.com/yonaaaaaa) and was about the World Cup. “We lost. But they did well. clap clap clap~ Everyone, let’s clap with warm hears for our national soccer team, who return with heavy steps. Good job!!”
- Park had just come back from a tour in Japan. The day before that (the 25th), he tweeted, “How could they know to come to the airport and see me, and at such a late hour? ^^ I didn’t tell anyone but how could they know? keke. Impressive~ Anyway, thank you for coming to see me!! Tomorrow at the concert I’ll have to ask, ‘Who came to the airport yesterday?~~’ keke See you tomorrow ^^”
- In an interview last year while promoting his movie The Scam, Park said, “I’ve suffered from insomnia for the last ten years. I’m rather sensitive. If something bothers me I can’t sleep until it’s resolved.” He added, “I’m envious of people who can sleep well. I think sleep is needed for good mental health.”
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Tags: deaths, Park Yong-ha
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251 May
June 29, 2010 at 7:34 PM
SHOCK.
I am in utter shock.
I really can't believe this!
Park Yong Ha?!?!
)):
I was really looking forward to his next acting project.
I just can't believe it.
I can imagine that Shi Yeon would be really shocked; I noticed that they were really close friends when watching Park Hyo Shin's Gift show )):
RIP Park Yong Ha. ;~~;
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252 dalisay
June 29, 2010 at 7:39 PM
i'm as shocked as anyone else after reading about what happened to him. this is just so sad. i wish that it didn't end this way. he was a great actor and from the looks of it, he was also a great person. i hope that he can be at peace now and my prayers go out to his family and friends.
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253 Luna
June 29, 2010 at 7:42 PM
WTF?!! Damn...it's always depressing to read news about celeb's suicides. It's like another slap of reality to the public that the entertainment world isn't so glamorous, bright, and cheerful that we like to portray it to be. R.I.P. Park Yong-ha. Not to be insensitive, but I think it's kind of cruel of him to take his life before his terminal ailing father. His poor father is already dying, but he has to mourn for his son while dealing with his failing health. (sighs) Feel sorry for the parents. Parents don't want to outlive their children.
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254 Sukispop
June 29, 2010 at 7:47 PM
What a terrible loss. Rest in peace, Park Yong-ha. And may peace be with his family, friends, and many fans.
I have not yet seen any of his works, but when the time is appropriate I will.
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255 jastinel
June 29, 2010 at 7:47 PM
I was a bit excited with Park and YEH team up in their up coming drama, saw video clips of his concert and I was impressed by his lovely voice, I also tried to watch his drama story of a man, his a good actor.
I pray that my fave actress will not be in this kind of situation!
I wish that, Park will be the last Korean actor who died/will die by committing suicide!
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256 kisa101
June 29, 2010 at 7:48 PM
maybe i'm just being sensitive (being that its not someone i know personally) but i have tears in my eyes for him and thats not just to be dramatic. i'm only a recent fan of his but this is such shocking and sad news to find out about. i have nothing else to say... i wish him peace in the afterlife. i feel sorry to his family and friends too (not just celeberty ones).
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257 all4movies
June 29, 2010 at 7:50 PM
Another bright star gone, especially as he was finally reaping the rewards for his hard work and perseverance. I will always remember him from the drama Loving You with Eugene.
So sad that no one was there for him.
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258 k-star
June 29, 2010 at 7:50 PM
i thought it was a joke at first cuz i was so looking forward to his new drama with Yoon Eun Hye! and now he has died :'(
I will miss him sorely T_T i was such of his since winter sonata :(
RIP PYH
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259 Binda
June 29, 2010 at 7:51 PM
My deepest and most sincere condolences to his family and close friends. I'd never seen any of his works and was really looking forward to watching Story of a Man, but now I don't think I can bring myself to... this is is just sad.
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260 bambinos
June 29, 2010 at 7:51 PM
This just really...got me. He was like the first Korean actor I liked, when I didn't even like Korean dramas. I was watching Japanese music shows and he appeared in a couple of them a few years back. There was just something charismatic and adorable about him that it made me adore him a lot. And I recently saw him on the lotte duty free thing and I'm just...in shock that I can't see his bright smile and beautiful voice anymore.
But this really shows East Asia needs to be more open about depression and other mentally unstable circumstances and not shun those types of people. Recently, Japan had two cases where the mother was depressed/mentally unstable, killed her kid, and then jumped off the building and committed suicide. That could have been prevented if the doctor/family members dealt with the mother properly.
I just wish something like this would...not happen again. S.Korea, please.
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261 anonymous
June 29, 2010 at 7:51 PM
Oh no. This is just awful. Terrible. He was too young to die! His last two kdramas were really great too. On Air and Story of a Man. I was looking forward to his next project and now this. This is so sad. I can't believe it.
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262 abcdefg
June 29, 2010 at 7:53 PM
WHAT??????????????????
sorry, i just woke up and certainly need time to process this....
this is not a nightmare right??
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263 sunflowery
June 29, 2010 at 7:53 PM
Rest in Peace.
Prayers for the family and friends, its a great loss.
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264 May
June 29, 2010 at 7:53 PM
):
I am having such a hard time believing this.
I really can't believe it.
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265 MsRetta
June 29, 2010 at 7:54 PM
This is sad. Condolences to his family and friends and fans.
I understand depression. However I have to say from my heart that suicide just
sounds to 'pat'. I dont believe it.
Park Yong-Ha, you will be missed.
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266 LadyIgraine
June 29, 2010 at 7:54 PM
I can't believe it! I'm in utter shock!
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267 anais
June 29, 2010 at 7:56 PM
I don't have the time or energy to read through all 200+ messages but I can't help but be angry at the ignorant comments being made about depression, especially suicidal depression. Suicidally depressed people don't "choose" to kill themselves. Suicidal depression takes them.
Depression is an incredibly complex illness that robs its suffers of life, both figuratively and literally. That's how the illness progresses, sometimes even with the best of treatment. It alienates the sufferers from those who might be able to intervene, sometimes by estranging the sufferers from loved ones, sometimes by deceiving loved ones so that they can't intervene at a critical juncture, sometimes by overwhelming the sufferer suddenly at a critical juncture so that long-planned suicide attempts are actually carried out despite having been fine moments prior.
It is not out of selfishness or weakness of character. As much as I feel for people who've lost loved ones to depression, unbearably overwhelming self-abnegation, love for others (believe it or not), shame, and depression's twisted logic - not selfishness - likely led the sufferers to fall over the precipice.
So incredibly saddened for Park Yong-ha. May he find the peace he was unable to find in his life of late.
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268 Linh
June 29, 2010 at 7:56 PM
OMG, i'm so saddened by this news. I only saw him in On-Air and thought that he was great. I hope his family is hanging in there.
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269 yutaka
June 29, 2010 at 8:00 PM
i'm so speechless... so sad to hear that..
T______T
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270 xylophonic
June 29, 2010 at 8:02 PM
Oh no. This is terrible. I watched him on Winter Sonata and thought he was wonderful. And I was also, like many, looking forward to seeing him on Love Song.
The thing that really gets me is that people are calling him selfish and uncaring for choosing to end his life, with his father terminally ill and everything else going on. But that's why depression is such a terrible thing. It warps your reality and obviously it seemed the only way to him at the time. I would think that depression affected his perspective so much that he wasn't even thinking of selfishness on his part or anything like that. You have to be in dire straits mentally, I would think, to resort to ending your life, but I think that it's also something that none of us can really imagine and can pass judgment on. Sure, what he did may have been selfish, objectively, but for him, it must have simply been terribly lonely and painful, far beyond his ability to cope.
I feel so sad for him. We all have those days where we can't bring ourselves to get up in the morning and trudge through our life, and what he was feeling may have been magnified times a hundred. I can't even bring myself to imagine it.
I feel terrible for his family, too. I hope they can find peace.
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271 coco
June 29, 2010 at 8:02 PM
My sympathy goes out to his parents. May they find the strength to endure this tragedy.
When I saw the headline I couldn't believe what I was reading. Tears filled my eyes.
So young and with so much life ahead of him. May he rest in peace.
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272 Abbu
June 29, 2010 at 8:04 PM
T___T I'm shocked too. I just read that YEH will star with him in Love Song now he's gone. T___T I haven't seen any of his dramas but was looking forward to Love Song. May he rest in peace..
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273 onemorepls
June 29, 2010 at 8:04 PM
OMG!!!
I'm shock....this is so sad
RIP Park Yong-ha
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274 rainey
June 29, 2010 at 8:05 PM
@ Serendipity.
Beautiful, honest post.
RIP Park Yong Ha.
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275 mangodelight
June 29, 2010 at 8:06 PM
I read the title, and my response was "WHATTTTT!?!?!?!?!"
Peace, comfort, love, and clarity for the family.
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276 anonymous
June 29, 2010 at 8:06 PM
Rip Park Yong-ha!!!!!
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277 shim yeon
June 29, 2010 at 8:09 PM
OMG! I just came back from school and WHAT!!!
The first kdrama i watched was winter sonata, and liked him even more in on air.
He was just 32, so young.
Rest in peace, we will always remember you.
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278 maria
June 29, 2010 at 8:09 PM
:( :'( :''(
R.I.P.Park Yong Ha.. thank you for sharing a part of your life with us when you lived. Rest in peace.
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279 elisa
June 29, 2010 at 8:10 PM
RIP Park Yong Ha.
I'm so saddened.... so much talent and potential. I hope his family is alright.
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280 .....
June 29, 2010 at 8:11 PM
삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다.
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281 crazedlu
June 29, 2010 at 8:12 PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
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282 tatz
June 29, 2010 at 8:13 PM
I'm his FANS since 'On Air' series....and this is such a terrible news that hits me this morningg...sooooo sad T__T
May he rest in peace, gonna miss him ALOT T___T
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283 mookie
June 29, 2010 at 8:13 PM
Rest in peace Park Yong Ha. I'm speechless and saddened and shocked. T_T May your family and dear ones find strength through this extremely painful, difficult time. my deepest condolences.
and for all those morons who judged someone suffering fr depression, just f*ck off, i feel physically sick to my stomach even skimming through your ignorant word diarrhea.
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284 missthiri
June 29, 2010 at 8:15 PM
Dear Park Yong Ha:
I wish you rest in peace. I am sure you are suffering so much from deepest depression. I wish your family can cope this hardest time of their lives. Our prayers are with you and your family.
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285 spuf
June 29, 2010 at 8:18 PM
Wow. I came here expecting some lighthearted news. But now, I'm just...lost for words.
Again, wow.
Depression is one hell of an obstacle. My condolences to his family and friends....
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286 Tha
June 29, 2010 at 8:19 PM
OMG!!!
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287 Thuy
June 29, 2010 at 8:23 PM
RIP :(
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288 anagoshiki
June 29, 2010 at 8:25 PM
OMG!!! I just bought the DVD for Story of a Man yesterday because I heard his performance was great. How could this happen??? Jung Da Bin, Choi Jin Sil, and now Park Yong Ha??? Why?????
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289 belva
June 29, 2010 at 8:25 PM
OMG I was just posting how I feel like crying in KNG's enlistment post but here I am really crying at this news.
It TOTALLY didnt help that I just started re-watching Story Of A Man yesterday. I'm deeply sadden by this news.
I don't expect myself to be so affected by this but I am. I mean I don't even know his name! But he looked so familiar and I got a little scared. Than I went googling his name (before finishing your post) and saw he was in Story Of A Man, so in my heart I went all "no he MUST NOT be the lead" but I totally broke into tears when I see that he is the guy I adore in the show. And when I continued reading this post I felt worse with all the details before his death.
I sincerely hope his family and friends will be able to go through this well. PSY, stay strong!
Gosh I'm still having running nose and feeling so sour inside.
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290 maymay
June 29, 2010 at 8:25 PM
I'm DEAD SHOCK!!!~~~~~ T_T
May you rest in peace, Park Yong-ha.... gonna miss you much...
*why should be you??... *
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291 robotmatsuri
June 29, 2010 at 8:27 PM
This is so, so, sad and tragic. RIP. :(
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292 casey
June 29, 2010 at 8:30 PM
It is so sad to hear news about this one. Is death really the answer to whatever they are facing now?
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293 Sammi510
June 29, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Utter sadness. He was so funny (and seemingly happy) in the variety shows that I saw him in. Prayers to his family, love ones and friends. RIP.
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294 naughtybaby
June 29, 2010 at 8:33 PM
i'm in complete and utter shock. his picture was the first thing that caught my eye so i thought his new drama was making headlines and progress but then it finally hit me when i saw the title. it's like dejavu - it wasn't too long ago when I was overwhelmed by Coffee Prince's Park Sang Min's death which was also sudden and unexpected like this.
i'm just truly devastated. this is only the first morning without him - how are we going to move on knowing he's gone forever?
i saw pics of So Ji Sub (they are really close mates) crying uncontrollably at PYH's wake service - i just hope he will not take the path of his fallen friend. may PYH RIP. he will be sorely missed :(
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295 Amohoneycomb
June 29, 2010 at 8:34 PM
I cannot believe this. And I cannot believe some of the stuff in these comments calling him selfish.
May he rest in peace.
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296 sweetaddiction
June 29, 2010 at 8:35 PM
O.M.G!!!! Another death in K-ent. RIP Park Yong Ha. My condolences to the family. How sad. I seriously think the K-govt should really address this issue.
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297 maria
June 29, 2010 at 8:35 PM
@ Dele:
i think i know what you mean, this angers me as much as it saddens me.. and it isn't a usual kind of anger that is directed towards someone or something-- it's like a really, really heavy mixture of frustration, sadness and longing and disillusionment and need to be of help all coming to a heavy boil.
there's such a deep WISH for things like this to not happen, which triggers an anger for the things underneath it that caused it to even happen. and it aches somewhere deep inside you as well.
i hate cancer. i hate car accidents, i hate that good people have to die in horrible ways. i hate most that there truly are some people who don''t take the trouble to actually grow the hell up and properly grow OUT of thinking that the reason to live lies outside of ourselves. money,power, fame, sucess--- such dirty effin words. sometimes, even "lover" becomes dirty if, at the heart of it, all he did was make you unable to live life without him...
you're right, Dele, it happens all too often.. the frequency becomes enough that can't help but think, that as un-understandable the true nature of and reasons for suicide are, that there is just too much of a general consideration of it as an option. an OPTION. a final, desperate, unthinking resort, but an option, nonetheless. *shakes head*
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298 irugnotmis
June 29, 2010 at 8:39 PM
such sad news. RIP.
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299 amareally
June 29, 2010 at 8:39 PM
This is so wrong ... it's not supposed to happen like this .. Yong Ha Oppa .. what happened that is so unbearable to go through??
I hope you find the peace you're looking for...
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300 Marie
June 29, 2010 at 8:41 PM
It is a very sad day. May he rest in peace and my heart goes out to his family. Very sad indeed. No parent should see their child die before them..
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