Lee Eun-ju

Template:Short description {{#invoke:Other people|otherPeople}} Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox person Lee Eun-ju (December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was the star of hit films including Taegukgi and The Scarlet Letter. She died by suicide at age 24.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Life and career

Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, Lee studied piano for much of her youth, without giving much thought to becoming an actress. She would later contribute a piano track to the soundtrack of the 2002 film Lovers' Concerto.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She moved to Seoul after graduating high school and was first noticed in the mid-1990s as a model for school uniforms.<ref name="model">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After finding work as a model, she began to be offered roles in various TV dramas, including Start and KAIST. Her film debut came in 1999, when she played the younger sister in Park Chong-wan's award-winning feature Rainbow Trout.<ref name="films">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Her first lead role came as the title character in Hong Sang-soo's Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000).<ref name="paquet" />

Following this, she teamed with actor Lee Byung-hun in the 2001 hit film Bungee Jumping of Their Own, and also scored a hit opposite Cha Tae-hyun in the melodrama Lovers' Concerto.<ref name="paquet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lee's later career was marked by several turns in films that failed at the box-office, plus a key role in the record-breaking Korean War film Taegukgi.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2004 she appeared in the very popular Korean drama, Phoenix, and later that year she starred in her last feature, Daniel H. Byun's The Scarlet Letter which screened as the Closing Film at the 2004 Pusan International Film Festival.<ref name=paquet /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

"I'm called a new generation star, but I don't want to be the kind of person who achieves instant fame and then is quickly forgotten. I want to learn step-by-step how to become a good actress, and gradually work my way up. A star achieves brilliance, but is soon forgotten; to become an actress takes more time." [Interview Excerpt: Kino, #60, February 2000]<ref name=paquet />

Death and subsequent tributes

On the night of February 22, 2005, only a few days after her graduation from Dankook University, Lee died by suicide at her apartment in Bundang, Seongnam, after slitting her wrists and hanging herself. She was 24 years old. 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, but it could also be traced from Bungee Jumping of Their Own, where all her characters since then have died, so she was too invested in her characters.Template:Clarify

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."<ref name="model"/><ref name="note">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The news of her death prompted a massive outpouring of grief from fellow actors, filmmakers and fans. 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 friends spoke in her memory.<ref name="funeral">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Her friends and colleagues have held memorials for Lee every year since her death. 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

Year	English Title	Hangul	Romanization	Role	Notes
1999	Rainbow Trout	송어	Song-eo	Se-hwa
2000	Yeca	예카	Yeka		Internet short film
	Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors	오! 수정	Oh! Su-jeong	Yang Su-jeong
	Bloody Beach	해변으로 가다	Haebyeoneuro gada	PC 통신하는 여자	Cameo appearance
2001	Bungee Jumping of Their Own	번지 점프를 하다	Beonjijeompeureul hada	In Tae-hee
	Ahmijimong	아미지몽	Ahmijimong	Ah-mi	Internet short film
2002	Lovers' Concerto	연애소설	Yeonae soseol	Kim Gyung-hee
	Unborn But Forgotten	하얀방	Hayanbang	Han Su-jin
2003	Garden of Heaven	하늘정원	Haneul jeongwon	Kim Young-ju
2004	Au Revoir, UFO	안녕! 유에프오	Annyeong UFO	Choi Kyeong-woo
	Taegukgi	태극기 휘날리며	Taegukgi Hwinalrimyeo	Kim Young-shin
	The Scarlet Letter	주홍글씨	Juhong geulshi	Choi Ga-hee

Television series

Year	English Title	Hangul	Romanization	Role	Notes
1997	Start	스타트		Jeong Nam-young
1998	An Eight-part Lead Character	납량특선 8부작		Park Seong-ju	Appeared in episode 어느날 갑자기.
	White Nights 3.98	백야 3.98	Baekya 3.98	young Anastasia
1999	KAIST	카이스트	Kaiseuteu	Gu Ji-won
2000	Look Back in Anger	성난 얼굴로 돌아보라	Seongnan Eolgulro Dorabora	Jeong Su-jin
2004	Phoenix	불새	Bulsae	Lee Ji-eun

Music video

Year	Song Title	Hangul	Artist
1998	"Even After 10 Years"	십년이 지나도	Park Jin-young
1999	"Sad Gift"	슬픈 선물	Kim Jang-hoon
2000	"Desire"	소망	Joo Young-hoon
	"Late Regrets"	늦은 후회	BoBo
2004	"I Was Thankful..."	고마웠다고...	Tim

Discography

Year	Title	Hangul	Notes
2001	End Title: Oh! You Are a Beautiful Woman (Variation) - Narration	End Title 오 그대는 아름다운 여인 - 에 내레이션 참여	from Bungee Jumping of Their Own OST
2002	Lovers' Concerto Main Theme: Piano performance	연애소설 Main Theme: 피아노 연주	from Lovers' Concerto OST
	Hi Ji-hwan, I'm Gyung-hee - Narration	지환아 안녕 나 경희야 - 내레이션
2004	Only When I Sleep	Template:NA	from The Scarlet Letter OST
2007	Lee Eun-ju: Only One	이은주 Only One	Lee Eun-joo tribute album

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1996	Sunkyung Smart Student Uniform Model Contest	Silver Award	Template:NA	Template:Won
2000	21st Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best New Actress	Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors	Template:Nom
2001	38th Grand Bell Awards	Best New Actress		Template:Won
2002	23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Actress	Lovers' Concerto	Template:Nom
2004	25th Blue Dragon Film Awards	Best Actress	The Scarlet Letter	Template:Nom
	MBC Drama Awards	Best Couple Award with Lee Seo-jin	Phoenix	Template:Won
		Top Excellence Award, Actress		Template:Won
2005	41st Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Actress (Film)	The Scarlet Letter	Template:Nom
	42nd Grand Bell Awards	Best Actress		Template:Nom
	Korea Broadcasting Awards	Person of the Year in Broadcasting (TV Actress category)	Phoenix	Template:Nom
	8th Director's Cut Awards	Special Acting Award	Template:NA	Template:Won

See also

• Suicide in South Korea

External links

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