Nov. 8, 2023

Dear Jinri Captures the Late K-pop Star Sulli’s Final Interview

Dear Jinri, directed by acclaimed documentarian Jung Yoon-suk is constructed around the final interview with Korean celebrity Choi Jinri, better known by her stage name, Sulli. Filmed shortly before her suicide in 2019, it reveals controversies and the true nature of the Korean entertainment industry. By: Wee Yan Ling

Choi Jin-ri, better known to her fans as Sulli, struggled with challenges. So much that she couldn’t even answer the questions and had to pause during the interview.  She struggled desperately for something practical to say. It’s sad that nobody noticed she was already at the verge of suicide.

In 2005, she kickstarted her journey in the entertainment industry as a child star when she was only 11. The same year, she successfully auditioned to become a K-pop trainee under SM Entertainment. By 2009, at the age of 15, she became a part of the girl group f(x). However, in July 2014, she took a temporary hiatus from her career due to hurtful comments and unfounded rumours. This hiatus eventually became permanent, leading her to shift her focus to acting and embark on a solo music career.

"Many celebrities who debuted at young ages suffer from depression and anxiety as they have to live in the public eye. They can be vulnerable if they get too much attention," said Park Jong-seok, head doctor at Yonsei Bom Psychiatry in Seoul. "They go through adolescence without experiencing genuine friendships and stability with peer groups."

The news of Choi Jin-ri’s death shocked the whole world and stirred a nationwide dialogue with reference to the pressures in the entertainment industry and the perplexing issue of cyberbullying propelled by the harmful and misogynistic fanbase. 

Official figures have revealed that the leading cause of death among South Koreans aged 10 to 39 is suicide, and it is currently unfolding in an alarming rate. Similar cases continue to ensue, as other aspiring K-pop stars have died of suspected suicide following Sulli’s death. They include Goo Hara and Moonbin. The cases have elicited more mental health aid for young people in the industry.

Even after her death, Sulli is once again thrust into the spotlight. This is attributed to the influential documentary by director Jung Yoon-suk that premiered during the Busan International Film Festival.

Dear Jinri is based on Sulli’s final project, an unfinished film and documentary for Netflix that was still in production when Sulli took her own life. Its focal point is the interview with Sulli, interspersed with personal journal entries, artworks, vlogs and archival clips by the actress herself.

The actress's talent was indubitable. The documentary reveals her true self as a thoughtful, genuine and truly artistic individual. However, these qualities also served as a double-edged sword in the industry. Her candidness was the gasoline that fuelled the online mob that found outrage over issues such as her going braless in public.

The film made sure not to cut out any silent or awkward pauses, placing emphasis on her long silences and fickle facial expressions. Despite her carefully curated facade, the film presents the raw version of Sulli that finds herself lost in this world. Evidently portrayed in her shift in mannerisms through her facial expressions and long silences. This allows the film to break the fourth wall, allowing the viewers to vicariously experience the uncomfortable situation that she is put in, the system that invaded her personal life. 

Dear Jinri shed light on the buoyant and irrepressible personality who dared to defy the ways society wants her to be, and instead, she carved out her own path and dared to walk down the very road she made for herself. The results are admittedly heartbreaking, but perhaps not in the way the filmmaker intended.

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