Don't Be Ashamed To Mourn A Celebrity

When K-pop star Jonghyun died last December, I found myself broken for weeks. Was I insane for feeling such immense sorrow over a super star?

- Riddhi Chakraborty

ARTISTS ARE LIKE OUR INNER voices, speaking to us when we need it most, often reassuring us that we are not alone. They’re also like our best friends, opening up their heart and offering us the peace in knowing there is someone who understands what we’ve been through. Even if we never end up meeting them, we are grateful for the shield they become for us through their artistry. The breaking of this shield by their passing can be devastating.

When South Korean group SHINee’s lead vocalist Kim Jonghyun died on December 18th 2017, legions of fans were left heartbroken and an entire industry was plunged into bereavement. The singer song writer, known mononymously as Jonghyun, was one of the world’s biggest K-pop stars and his sudden suicide at the age of 27 sparked numerous discussions about the price of fame, the competitive K-pop industry and the severity of depression that leads celebrities into taking their own lives.

Accompanying the hundreds of tributes that populated the Internet since the death was a wide range of advice on what to do if you ever feel suicidal or depressed. Almost every article/obituary carried cautious little blurbs that went something like: ‘If you or a loved one is feeling depressed, please contact ’.

While this ubiquitous gesture of help was commendable, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. As a longtime lover of his music, I was being offered therapy when I all I wanted was a shoulder to cry on.