"Another victim of the K industry"- Fans react to reports of Queen Woo Actor Song Jae-rim’s death by alleged suicide at 39

On Tuesday, November 12, the Korean media outlet Asia Economy reported that 39-year-old South Korean actor Song Jae-rim allegedly died by suicide. He was reportedly found dead at his apartment in Seongdong-gu at around 12:30 PM by his friend who was supposed to have lunch with him that day.

The police, who investigated the scene, also found an alleged suicide note of 2 pages at his apartment. They also expressed that they found no suspicions of murder or other crimes at the scene, and are thereby suspecting the cause of death as suicide. The family of the actor spoke to the Korean media outlet, Yonhap News, where they mentioned the funeral details.

"We want to hold a small funeral with just the family."

However, they didn't specify or mention the exact cause of Song Jae-rim's death. His former agency, on the other hand, was also shocked by the news. They expressed that they weren't aware of the actor's whereabouts ever since their contract termination with Song Jae-rim last year. He worked independently since his termination with Saram Entertainment.

Following the news, several fans and netizens have been sending in their condolences and grieving the death of the actor. Here are a few reactions:

"Another victim of the K industry"

"May your long journey be peaceful and if there is second life may you be reborn with much happier and less worry life." said a fan.

"How I wished everyone in the world would just be kind to each other. I can't bear to imagine how hard he's gone through for him to finally end his life." added another fan.

"sokor should put more effort in addressing mental health issues in their country this is seriously heartbreaking" commented a netizen.

More fans and netizens talked about how heartbreaking the news was and how they were concerned about the amount of losses in the industry that have happened. Some of the comments read as follows.

"this is heartbreaking. you don't know what people are going through or what battle they are fighting." stated a fan.

"it feels surreal i used to watch him acting in kdramas and thought to myself he's talented and underrated.." added another fan.

"The list of celebrities committing su!c!de in the Korean entertainment industry is truly alarming." commented an X user.

"This industry is so scary. They’re never going to learn from their mistakes. A very sad and premature loss." said another X user.

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All you need to know about Song Jae-rim and the recent news of his alleged death by suicide

Song Jae-rim was a 39-year-old South Korean actor who kickstarted his career in 2009 with his debut in the movie, Actresses. He grew famous for his role in The Moon Emrbracing the Sun, an historical K-drama which was released in 2012.

His other famous works include Two Weeks, Secret Garden, Goodbye Mr. Black, Inspiring Generation, I Wanna Hear Your Song, etc. His last project was the series, Queen Woom, which was released in August 2024. Additionally, he also pariticated in the musical, The Rose of Versailles, which was perfomed at the Chungmu Art Center Grand Theater between July and October.

On the other hand, the actor's funeral is expected to be held on November 14, at 12 PM KST at the the Yeouido St. Mary's Funeral Home in Room 2. His cremation will take place at the Seoul Metropolitan Crematorium, and his burial site is yet to be decided.

While the contents of the actor's alleged suicide note wasn't revealed, he left a message for fans through his Instagram bio. His Instagram bio read the following:

"The Start of a Long Vacation"

In addition to leaving the message that hinted that Song Jae-rim might have pre-planned his alleged suicide, he also disabled the comments under all his Instagram posts.

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Regardless, fans have been mourning the loss following the news of Song Jae-rim's death.