Lee Eun-ju

Infobox actor
name = Lee Eun-ju


imagesize =
caption = Lee Eun-ju
birthdate = birth date|1980|11|16|mf=y
location = Gunsan, South Korea
deathdate = death date and age|2005|2|22|1980|11|16|mf=y
deathplace = Bundang, Seongnam
South Korea
othername =
occupation = Actress
yearsactive = 1997-2005
homepage =Infobox Korean name
title=Korean name
hangul=이은주
hanja=李恩宙
rr=I Eun-ju
mr=I Ŭnju
tablewidth=254
color=silver

Lee Eun-ju (November 16, 1980 — February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She committed suicide at 24 years of age.

Career

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,cite web | last = | first = | url = http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200502/200502220032.html | title = Top Actress's Suicide Shocks Nation | format = | work = | publisher = | accessmonthday = September 15 | accessyear = 2006] and after a number of television appearances she made her film debut in 1999 with "Rainbow Trout".cite web | last = | first = | url = http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200502/kt2005022216371710220.htm | title = Actress Lee Eun-ju Commits Suicide | format = | work = | publisher = | accessmonthday = September 15 | accessyear = 2006] 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" in which she did many nude scenes. This was to be her final role.

Death

On the night of February 22, 2005, only a few days after her graduation from Dankook University, Lee committed 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, "Mom, 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."cite web | last = | first = | url = http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200502/200502220032.html | title = Top Actress's Suicide Shocks Nation | format = | work = | publisher = | accessmonthday = September 15 | accessyear = 2006] cite web | last = | first = | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/People/Young-star-hangs-herself/2005/02/23/1109046974175.html | title = Family blames star's suicide on nude scenes | format = | work = | publisher = | accessmonthday = August 18 | accessyear = 2006]

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.cite web | last = | first = | url = http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200502/200502240023.html | title = Entertainment World Says Goodbye to Lee Eun-ju | format = | work = | publisher = | accessmonthday = August 18 | accessyear = 2006]

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.

Filmography

Film

* "If it Snows on Christmas" (1998, "Christmas nuni naerimyeon")
* "Rainbow Trout" (1999, "Song-o")
* "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" (2000, "Oh! Soo-jung")
* "Bloody Beach" (2000, "Haebyeoneuro gada")
* "Bungee Jumping of Their Own" (2001, "Beonjijeompeureul hada")
* "Lovers' Concerto" (2002, "Yeonae sosheol")
* "Unborn But Forgotten" (2002, "Hayanbang")
* "Garden of Heaven" (2003, "Haneul jeongwon")
* "Au Revoir, UFO" (2004, "Annyeong UFO")
* "Brotherhood" (2004, "Taegukgi")
* "The Scarlet Letter" (2004, "Juhong geulshi")

TV drama

* "Start" (1997)
* "White Nights 3.98" (1998)
* "KAIST" (1999)
* "The Phoenix" (2004)

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0497249|name=Eun-ju Lee
*

Persondata
NAME= Lee, Eun-ju
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Actress
DATE OF BIRTH= November 16, 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH= Gunsan, South Korea
DATE OF DEATH= February 22, 2005
PLACE OF DEATH= Bundang, Seongnam
South Korea