Lee Eun-Ju Biography
Hey Amped Asia viewers, I decided to make Lee Eun-Ju's profile a bit different from the usual profiles. I want to share a bit
of my own opinions on this beautiful actress.
To start off,
As many of you know, Lee Eun-Ju was killed on on February 22, 2005. Police suspect that it was suicide
due to a number of reasons. She wrote a suicide note with the message "Mom, I am sorry and I love you." The message was
written with her own blood. Another note that she wrote 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."
She was found having hung herself with a belt while her wrists were slit. Police ruled out any possibility of foul play. Lee
Eun-Ju's friends and family blamed the suicide on her nude scenes in the movie,
The Scarlet Letter. Another
speculation (this is completely an unconfirmed rumor) is that her mother's gambling debts, abuse, and criticism led to her
depression and eventual suicide.
I don't really know what really went on when Lee Eun-Ju was killed, but I sincerely hope that she didn't commit suicide. All
the evidence points to her suicide, yes, but there is still some likelihood that she was murdered. The reason I believe this
is because for one, she scrawled a suicide note with her own blood. There is just too much of a fairytale quality in this
aspect of the death. Blood suicide notes happen in movies, not real life. I'm not saying that this couldn't have happened,
but it seems very sadistic to write a note in blood, and from my impression of this actor, she didn't have the personality to
cut herself to draw enough blood to write such a letter. A more likely explanation is that a murderer first hung her, then
slit her wrists and used the blood to write the note.
Another reason that I don't believe she took her own life is that the alleged nude scenes from
The Scarlet Letter that
caused her depression were performed tastefully and beautifully. The scenes were raunchy, but they didn't actually expose any
of her private body parts. At most, I would say the scenes would be rated R, but they might even pass in a PG-13 movie. By
contrast, her movie
Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors had more nude scenes.
Actresses are expected to be prepared for scenes such as the one she had, and if she felt that such a scene would cause her
depression, she probably wouldn't have taken the role (atleast logically). Although some actresses are desperate and need to
perform nude scenes in order to get recognition, Lee Eun-Ju had already had a part in one of the top movies in Korean cinema,
Taegukgi, which guaranteed her to get roles easily. There would be no need for her to act in a movie that she wouldn't
feel comfortable with. Of course, I'm not taking into account the pressure that her management agency might have placed on
the role.
In contrast to other Asian countries, South Korean cinema is much more liberal about nudity in general. Many actresses who
appear in the nude are the most revered actresses in the country. It doesn't make sense that she would commit suicide for
such a reason, especially since most people thought the scenes that she performed were very appropriate for the movie. Inside
she may have been a really pure and innocent girl, but if this was the case why would she decide to make films such as
Virgin Stripped Bare and
Scarlet Letter? Obviously she had to have some prior penchance for these kinds of
raunchy films.
Another widely spread rumor is that the "Entertainment X-File," which is a series of allegations about different top stars in
Korea had information about illegitimate children, past histories, and troubles with the law were all written in the document
and spread throughout the internet. Perhaps she was killed by an angry person because of some of these allegations. Or she
may have just been depressed because such secrets were leaked.
This girl had so much to live for. Sure there's some trouble spots in her life, but she had a new drama that she already
signed on to. She had started some new CF advertisements as well. Many in Korea really respected her and loved her acting
despite what she did on screen. Lee also had just graduated from her university the Friday before. Her professors had said
that she was in good spirits at the time. Although it's possible, I just can't fathom a woman with so much potential giving
it all up for something as silly as a nude scene.
Pray for this girl. Pray that she didn't commit suicide. Suicide can only condemn a person, there is no benefit whatsoever
from committing this horrible act. Maybe one day new evidence will be uncovered regarding this amazing actress's death.
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