Having struggled with the pressure to look perfect in the public, these stars have experienced first-hand how it felt to be dealing with depression.
- Aug 29, 2017
AceShowbiz - We are used to seeing K-pop idols being cheerful and entertaining on camera that we sometimes forget that they are only humans who can be stressed out. Having to deal with the pressure of being perfect all time as well as packed schedules and other personal problems cause these idols to feel overwhelmed and to suffer a slump in their seemingly glamorous and perfect lives.
Girls' Generation's Tae Yeon
Tae Yeon was known as the bubbly kid-like leader of Girls' Generation, but it all changed when people started to notice that she had lost the sparkle in her eyes. No one knew what happened to Tae Yeon, but the "I" hitmaker might have revealed that she was struggling with depression during an appearance on "Yoo Hee Yeol's Sketchbook" back in 2013.
Tae Yeon revealed that she felt "lonely like crazy," before adding, "After my schedules are over and I come home, I feel really empty. I wonder if it's because I'm hungry, but even if I eat a lot, I don't feel full." When asked whether she asked for help from her groupmates, Tae Yeon said that they had their own ways to overcome their loneliness, but those didn't work out for her.
miss A's Suzy
Suzy of miss A rose to fame when she was just a high school student, and it was hard for her. "There were a lot of instances where people looked down on me because I am young," she revealed while guesting on "Healing Camp" in 2013. "People tell me 'you don't know because you're too young' but on the other hand, they expect me to act like an adult. These kinds of contradictions really made me mad."
"Being exhausted from being busy just means that many people want to see me, which makes me happy. But I want to have time to learn and do one thing well but since I'm so busy, there's a lot of times when I just have to do it," the "Uncontrollably Fond" star said. "In the end, I had signs of depression. I wondered if I could continue to live like this and if I could endure through all of this tomorrow once again. Once, I was just laughing and talking with my friend and I suddenly started to cry."
IU
All people want to be loved, but for IU, receiving so much love was a big burden. During her concert in late 2016, the "23" songstress told her fans that she was depressed back in 2014, when she just became popular. "That was the year when a lot of people liked me. But in one way, I felt weird and grew depressed. It made me wonder if I deserved such compliments," she confessed.
"I was unable to enjoy those compliments. I couldn't trust myself that year and had a hard time. It was hard for me to promote," IU continued. "And that is how I got insomnia. I couldn't sleep at all, so I was unable to properly do the things I had to during the daytime. That's why I was dispirited and [felt trapped] in a vicious, repetitive cycle."
Big Bang's G-Dragon
G-Dragon of Big Bang made a successful solo debut with his hit song "Heartbreaker" in 2009, but the happiness was short-lived since he was later accused of plagiarism. The "Crayon" rapper later opened up about the controversy during an appearance on "Night After Night".
"I can't say who is wrong and who is right. It made me more determined not to make such a mistake in the future. The only thing I can do as a singer is to show a better stage next time instead of writing an apology," he shared, before saying that hate comments did hurt him in a way. "I started avoiding calls from my parents. I also didn't answer calls from my friends. Because of the way people saw me, even though I didn't do anything wrong, I felt like a sinner. I think I had a little bit of depression."
G-Dragon also talked about being called an overrated musician. "I think it's true. I've never told anyone that I'm a musical genius or that I'm really good at music," he admitted. "When that article came out, I feel more relieved and better that way because it's true, I am overrated."
f(x)'s Amber
Amber of f(x) is famous for her boyish look, but it often brought her trouble because many people around her felt that she wasn't girly enough. "In the past, many people made fun of me because I have a boyish appearance. I was depressed and sad. I didn't do anything wrong," she said on KBS Cool FM's "2'O Clock".
The "On My Way" songstress then revealed that she wrote her song "Beautiful" after feeling better. " 'Beautiful' is a song that I wrote on my birthday after getting my head straight. I hope that many people will listen to this song," she shared. "There are many people who think they're insufficient because of their looks but I hope that they can love themselves."
Amber also tried to help fans who were suffering from depression by posting on Twitter a link to a video that talked about how to battle depression. "As someone whos battled depression, this vid helped me see things in a different way. i know it won't help everyone, but it can help someone," she wrote, much to fans' delight.
Have a great day everyone^^https://t.co/COOxACYvjq
— Amber J. Liu 刘逸云 (@llama_ajol) June 22, 2016
as someone whos battled depression, this vid helped me see things in a different way. i know it won't help everyone, but it can help someone
— Amber J. Liu 刘逸云 (@llama_ajol) June 22, 2016
2AM's Jinwoon
Being popular is a blessing, but busy schedules eventually took a toll on 2AM's Jinwoon. The "Dream High 2" star always appeared cheerful on TV, but he suffered from depression after completing 2AM's U.S. concert tour in 2010.
"I fell into slump for quite a while. After our U.S tour, I developed symptoms similar to depression. I was unable to sleep for about a month and I just wanted to be left alone," he said on an appearance on "Law of the Jungle 2". "I was indulged in music during that time and it helped me go through it. With the experience I gained, I plan on writing a lot of songs while I'm in Madagascar."
