‘Flower Boy Ramyun Shop‘ actor Lee Ki Woo was the next star to be interviewed on the topic of suicide for a suicide prevention campaign led by major Korean media outlets like TV Report and BNT News.
Titled ’A Beautiful Korea Living Together‘, the campaign aims to fill Korean society with love and hope, and has brought together the support of top stars to speak on the issue in hopes of bringing more attention to the cause.
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Q. “What do you think about suicide? What do you think leads people to make such extreme decisions?”
“Everyone suffers from heartache. Unless you’ve gone through exactly what they are suffering from, you’ll never know how much pain they are suffering from. Still, suicide should never be an option. If you flip the world ‘suicide (ja sal)’, it becomes ‘to live (sal ja)’. When you go to the army, there are a lot of suicide prevention posters as well as training and lessons. I think listening to people that need help is one of the biggest ways to help the cause. If someone has at least one other person to hold on to and have their story heard, it could go a long way in preventing that person from thinking of ending their life.”
Q. “Was there ever a moment so difficult that you wanted to end your own life?”
“Ever since I was little, I saw my family overcome obstacles by coming together and fighting through it as a family. So even if I myself as an individual felt hardship, I never felt that I was alone. I can clearly see how much it would hurt my family if I were to give myself up that way.”
Q. “How do you overcome your obstacles?”
“I exercise, go out for drinks with my manager or close friends, and talk with my family.”
Q. “Do you know any celebrities on the brink of suicide?”
“I did see some, as well as some that just couldn’t come out of the ditch they had thrown themselves in. Whenever I see that, I’ll ask if we could go out for a meal and try to get them to think about their life in a different light. The rest is up to them.”
Q. “What will you be pursuing in the future?”
“I’m planning to take a break over the winter. I began working on a drama immediately after being discharged so I didn’t have a lot of freedom. I hope to go on vacation with some friends and train for my next drama. There are also Japanese promotions lined up starting January so I’ll also be studying up on the language.”
