Park Ji Sun's Death: Suspected suicide, her skin disease, and her mom's letter - 'I can't send my daughter alone'

Park Ji-Sun

 

The South Korean entertainment industry is still mourning the deaths of Park Ji Sun and her mother. The comedian and presenter was found dead at her residence in the Mapo district, Seoul, Monday, November 2, 2020 at around 13:44 KST.

Both are suspected of committing suicide. Police have found the suicide note the two left behind. Police speculate that it was written by her mother and have stated that there was no trace of foul play in the death of mother and daughter.

The Seoul Mapo Police Station announced that the cops have decided not to conduct autopsy to respect the decision of the grieving family.

"I can't send my daughter alone," stated the letter. Park Ji Sun and her mother's funeral procession will be conducted on November 5 at 7 a.m. KST.

South Korean government data show that in the highly competitive Korean society, suicide is not only a long-term social problem, but also the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 39. Last year, more than 13,700 people suicided.

Park Ji Sun graduated from Korea University, an elite university in South Korea. She studied education while at school, but she attracted audiences with her simplicity and sense of self-deprecating humor. She often played easily the role of women who were repeatedly rejected during dating.

She once said in an interview with Hankyoreh Shinmun: "I am very lucky to be a comedian. I can make people laugh with my face."

The late Park Ji Sun's interview about her skin condition is in the spotlight - "I would itch until it bled in my sleep"

 
Various fellow comedians also revealed that the late Park Ji Sun was currently taking a break because she was "sick". Park Ji Sun has even expressed her intention to recover from her illness during the winter.

After this sad news spread, Park Ji Sun's previous interview in which she discussed her skin condition was revealed. In 2010 she was asked about the reason for appearing bare face after winning a year-end award.

She explained, “I appeared on TV naked face because of my skin condition. When I was in second grade in middle school, I went to the hospital because of my skin condition and they said it was acne. So I ended up having some dermabrasion procedures, and from them my skin just got raw."

“When I thought back, I thought it was a misdiagnosis. My skin would be sore and sore, would become swollen and blister oozing pus, so badly that I considered taking a year off. But the school told me that taking a year off would ruin my career," she continued.

“So I will only go to school for attendance in the morning for a bit, then leave early every day for 6 months. I would itch until it bled in my sleep, so I had to tie my hands with shoelaces when I slept. After that, I couldn't even put skin lotion on my face.”

Furthermore, Park Ji Sun revealed that in college, her skin condition developed again after she tried using skin products, and tried other skin rejuvenation procedures. However, the procedure only worsened her unidentified skin condition to spread to more than just her face, leaving him a year off from college.

“I don't really remember that gap year. I'm not in a good place. I may just watch TV or write letters to my friends. I couldn't go out because I would scare people with my face,” she said.

She also shared his parents' reaction when she decided to audition as a comedian after recovering from her illness. 

"The reason my parents weren't against me giving up school to be a comedian was probably because they were glad I wanted to be on TV, even though in the past I couldn't even quit."

On how she handled the trauma of her past skin condition, she shared, 

“I never told my friends why I took a year break… it was because of some unidentified skin condition. I also have an allergic reaction to sunlight, but I only hide it by taking care of sun umbrellas. I purposely wore ragged tracksuits and lacy umbrellas to make my friends laugh."

Many netizens who sympathized and empathized with Park Ji Sun's past interviews, also shared their experiences with traumatic skin problems in the past and expressed their sorrow over the late comedian's death.

According to several media outlet reports, the late Park Ji Sun is said to have undergone minor surgery on October 23. Sources said she wanted to complete the operation successfully and used November to focus on restoring her health.