| Lee Eun-ju | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 16, 1980 Gunsan, South Korea |
| Died | February 22, 2005 (aged 24) Bundang, Seongnam, South Korea |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1997–2005 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이은주 |
| Hanja | 李恩宙 |
| Revised Romanization | I Eun-ju |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Ŭnju |
Lee Eun-ju (Hangul: 이은주; November 16, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She died by suicide at the age of 24.
Contents |
Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, Lee moved to Seoul after graduating high school to study acting. She was first noticed in the mid-1990s as a model for school uniforms,[1] and after a number of television appearances she made her film debut in 1999 with Rainbow Trout.[2] She went on to become a popular actress in Korea, starring in hit films such as Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Lovers' Concerto and Taegukgi. She also starred in the very popular Korean drama, The Phoenix, as well as The Scarlet Letter, her final role.
On the night of February 22, 2005, only a few days after her graduation from Dankook University, Lee died by suicide at her apartment in Bundang, Seongnam. She was 24 years old. She slit her wrists and hanged herself. The family blamed the suicide on severe bouts of depression and mental illness, and said she had been suffering from insomnia due to the nude scenes she had done in The Scarlet Letter.
She left a suicide note scrawled in blood, in which she wrote, "Mum, I am sorry and I love you." A separate note said, "I wanted to do too much. Even though I live, I'm not really alive. I don't want anyone to be disappointed. It's nice having money... I wanted to make money."[1][3][4]
Lee Eun-ju was cremated and enshrined in a crypt at Goyang. Hundreds of her fellow actors and entertainers attended her funeral. Vocalist Bada sang "You Were Born to be Loved" and her friends spoke in her memory.[5]
Her friends and colleagues have held memorials for Lee every year since her passing. The 2007 event was marked by a music CD released in her name, featuring remastered versions of her cover performance of The Corrs' "Only When I Sleep" from The Scarlet Letter, as well as tribute performances by her friends in the entertainment industry.