The death of a 25-year-old top idol
South Korean star Choi Shirley (real name Choi Truth)
He committed suicide at home in October 2019 at the age of 25.
"To the Truth", a documentary featuring her in-depth interviews,
Launched in 2023,
The audience heard her candidly share her inner feelings in her final days.
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In "To the Truth", Cui Xueli's self-introduction is a simple sentence "My name is Cui Zhenzhen"
"To the Truth" scored 8.9 on Douban by more than 4,000 people,
It also has a high rating on the well-known foreign film review website letterboxd,
Netizens commented, " An idol has a sense of autonomy one day,
If you want to pursue your own subjectivity, you are strangled. ”
But in South Korea,
There is no media commentary on To the Truth.
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Director Jung Yun-seok at the filming site of "To the Truth".
At the end of 2023, film director Jung Yun-seok will come to Beijing to participate in the screening event.
One spoke to Jung Yun-seok, who said:
"'To the Truth' is a film centered on the protagonist 'Truth',
At the same time, it is also a film created for the countless 'truths' of this land. ”
Editor: Ni Pujia
"When I first started in the entertainment industry, people kept telling me one thing, and I didn't think it was ridiculous at the time – you were a product. You have to be the most beautiful and first-class product for the public. Cui Xueli said in the documentary.
Before filming, director Jung Yun-seok looked at almost all Shirley's materials, and the moment he found the theme of the film was Shirley's Instagram profile: Shirley is the truth.
"It should have been written by her herself, and in Korean, truth means 'true essence.'" She uses her real name Choi Shin-jung in all her film appearances instead of Shirley, and she has dreams of being an actress and wants to gain identity as an actress instead of becoming an idol. ”
More than ten years ago, Choi Zhenzhen was favored by Lee Byung-hoon, the director of "Dae Jang Geum", and among more than 100 young actors, he was selected to play the role of Princess Xiaoshanhua in "Potato Nursery Rhyme". The reporter who came to interview felt that the name "truth" was too Christian, and wanted her to change her name. Later, the name Choi Truth-truth was changed to Choi Shirley.
The meaning of innocence and whiteness almost binds Shirley's entire life.
In the film, Shirley and the director are in the same direction - unveiling the exquisite product Cui Shirley and showing the real Cui truth.
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Because of the death of Sherry Cui, only one of the short films in the "Persona: SULLI" series was completed, "4: Clean Island"
At the beginning, director Jung Yun-seok received an invitation from producer Yoon Jong-shin to create a short documentary about Shirley, because Netflix wanted to use Shirley as the heroine, and the four directors would make four short films called "Persona: SULLI".
Jung Yun-seok, who had previously been an independent documentary filmmaker with no experience working with the K-pop entertainment industry, approached him by a producer who watched his art documentary "Punk Pirates Hell Seoul" about his punk band.
Choi Shirley passed away three months after filming began, and when Netflix proposed to make a feature documentary, Jung Yun-seok went through a difficult period and restarted production a year later.
He believes that the greatest significance of making a film is to mourn the deceased, "The real mourning is to treat her as an artist." ”
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At the end of 2023, Zheng Yunxi came to the Inside-Out Art Museum in Beijing, where he exhibited his documentary debut "Non-fiction Diary"
Jung Yun-seok and Shirley met for the first time, about a café, he arrived 10 minutes early, picked a dandelion at the door, and when he talked to Shirley one-on-one, he kept plucking the dandelion petals; Shirley asked, are you not interested in me?
"It's not that I don't care, it's just that the first time I met, I didn't search for her information at all, and I didn't want to meet her with preconceived notions. ”
In the process of contact, Jung Yun-seok felt more and more that she was an artist. She has been trying to express herself, using music, drawing, writing, she said in her diary, "Nothing can beat my imagination, everyone should have the freedom to imagine".
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Cui Xueli's paintings, she specially opened an ins account be_my_panties posted her own paintings
Shirley once painted a self-portrait with lipstick, which Jung Yun-seok thought was wonderful, "It was a confrontation with beauty, but the end result was very beautiful, she had a lot of ideas and talent." It's a pity that she only creates in her own home. He imagined giving her all her lipsticks, taking pictures of her and then making a self-portrait, "I wanted to give her some courage to create something she liked." ”
For a long time in South Korea, people recalled Cui Xueli with a label of "very beautiful and fragile" - "peaches in the world", who had been abused on the Internet for a long time and had abnormal spirits.
SM issued an official announcement to mourn her, "a cute girl with a bright smile" and "her beauty and her gentle heart will be remembered forever and cherished in our hearts".
Her bravery, her pain, her rebellious and vivid "non-cooperation" are still not seen. She confessed to her romance with a hip-hop singer who was 14 years her senior, and posted daily photos of them in the face of abuse, insisting on the freedom of "no bra" (no bra), "which is healthier and more comfortable."
She proposed placing organic sanitary napkins in public restrooms, which can be easily accessed by low-income families and adolescent girls.
On the day South Korea finally supported the abolition of abortion, she immediately sent out a celebratory ...... As an adult, she became more and more detached from the meaning of the name "Shirley", not being the well-behaved, submissive, sweet smiling object of the girl group and East Asian culture, but fiercely searching for herself.
Shin Dongye also said to Shirley, who has pink hair, in a joking tone: "You shouldn't have been born in Korea, (you're) really cool Hollywood type." ”
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崔雪莉的ins贴文下常有辱骂的留言
This is also the reason why no matter what she does, she is infinitely amplified and attacked, "slut", "depraved", "sexual innuendo", she has many such messages on her ins, once, she sued the rumor-monger, and finally found out that the other party was a college student of about the same age, and she didn't want him to become an ex-convict, and Shirley finally decided to withdraw the lawsuit.
"After her death, the BBC described her as "an artist and a feminist who resisted the conservative K-pop scene," Jung said. In addition, the Korea Federation of Democratic Workers issued a statement of condolence for our eternal comrades, which was jointly formulated by Korean informal female workers (note: similar to temporary workers). ”
This shows that she is not only a K-pop star, but also respected by many socially disadvantaged groups. This is in stark contrast to the portrayal of her as a victim of cyberbullying in most South Korean media. ”
The interview lasted 10 hours, and Jung Yun-seok and Shirley had already conducted three or four pre-interviews before the official shooting. When we first met, she didn't know anything about documentary film, but she quickly understood. She is always open and honest in the process of making films together and always prioritizes the crew. ”
"In the eyes of the public, she is an incomprehensible and resistant figure, but the truth in my memory has always been that she is a careful, caring person. ”
"To the Truth" cuts 10 hours of interviews into about 1 hour, which retains many of Shirley's moments of silence and hesitation.
For example, the director asked, do you think K-pop idols are laborers? Shirley thought for a while before saying, "Yes." ”
Do their workers' rights need to be protected? What are the rights and interests exactly? Shirley pondered again. "Minimum wage, standard working hours?" said Shirley with a wry smile, "I would like to." ”
"Unlike Shirley, who is known to the public, she has a long pause after hearing the question, to think, and to choose words carefully," Jung Yun-seok said, watching Shirley's other programs, he found that it was an edited Shirley, and the words that had the effect of the show were cut out in a concentrated manner.
"In most film clips, silence is removed as an unnecessary factor, but I think silence in interviews is part of a 'truth' that we didn't know before. Personally, her 'silence' is one of the most beautiful moments in the film. ”
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Cui Xueli's last album "Goblin" MV, the album was written by herself
Shirley talked about being in the K-pop music industry, "It's like in the movie 'The Matrix', choose between the red pill and the blue pill, know the truth and reality, accept the pain that comes with awakening, or ignore it and continue to live? I want to know what reality is, but I don't know it...... Maybe...... I'm going to have a happier time?"
In the midst of hesitation and pause, her real struggle was seen.
Jung Yun-seok had planned to conduct a second interview, "I wanted to keep asking what was real, so I was going to show Shirley the video of the first interview to see how she reacted to her answers, maybe she suddenly had a different idea." ”
"The original intention of making this film was not to find the right answer, but to find the so-called truth. ”
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In "To the Truth", Choi Shirley said: "Oh Hallyu, being a Hallyu idol is the worst. ”
Jung Yun-seok asked the artist to set up the interview scene as the "Emerald City", with many green plants and mirrors, "In 'The Wizard of Oz', the Emerald City is a false world, and people think that their world is made of jade by wearing green glasses, and it is full of light. I think the Emerald City is a metaphor for the current K-pop industry. ”
Shirley's last single "Dorothy" was written by herself, and Jung Yun-seok drew a lot of inspiration from it, and the protagonist of "The Wizard of Oz" is Dorothy, a brave, kind little girl who lives on the Kansas prairies and is swept by a tornado to Oz, a bizarre and colorful place. But in the face of this magical hot land, Dorothy only wants to return to her hometown, and she goes to the Emerald City to ask the Grand Karcist to help her take her home......
"To the Truth" is divided into five chapters, each chapter is named after "The Wizard of Oz", the first chapter is called "The Road Paved with Yellow Bricks", because in the original book, the road paved with yellow bricks leads to the Emerald City, and the later chapters are "Dorothy's Silver Shoes", "The Emerald City", "The Wizard of Oz", and "Kansas...... Fairy tale literature is a metaphor for Shirley's life.
"A lot of people are saddened by her passing, but it seems to me that she, like Dorothy, left the Emerald City and returned to her hometown of Kansas, doesn't that make it a little less sad?"
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letterboxd, "I would like to thank the director and producers for being so respectful of Shirley and her memories for making this documentary in a way that is not intrusive, but gentle, respectful, and beautiful"
After the release of "To the Truth", it received high ratings outside of Korea, and Jung Yun-seok said, "I think this is not only an evaluation of the movie, but also the miss of the protagonist by fans around the world." It is a pity that there is no Korean media commentary on "To the Truth", and this media silence, like the silence of the protagonist in the movie, has a lot of meaning. ”
The film shows the truth of Korean society in a way that is not angry, but calm, accurate, and restrained.
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"To the Truth" uses a fragment of "The Night of Bad Reviews".
In the film, Cui Xueli participated in the variety show "Bad Review Night" (let the artist read out the bad comments about himself on the Internet) to talk about feminism.
One female artist said: "People give feminism too much negative connotation, and I don't understand why women have to be careful when talking about it." She asked the male host, "Are you a feminist?"
The moderator said, "I don't want to be limited by a particular vocabulary," and then changed the subject and said a bunch of how to educate children......
Shirley, who was sitting on the side, suddenly raised her voice and said, "Do you think men and women should be equal?"
"Of course", the moderator replied.
"Then you're a feminist," Shirley said. "Oh yes?" the host still dodged.
Because in South Korea, once you are labeled as a "feminist", it is dangerous.
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Stills from the movie "Kim Ji-young Born in 82".
In October, the year of Shirley's death, the movie "Kim Ji-young Born in 82" was released in South Korea, and the title page of the original novel reads: I sincerely hope that every daughter in the world can have bigger and more unlimited dreams. Bae Joo-hyun, a member of the girl group Red Velvet, was once dubbed a "feminist" because she said on the show that she had read the novel, and male fans burned and shredded photos of Bae Joo-hyun and posted them.
Apink member Naen once uploaded her phone case with the words "GIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING", but was wildly accused of being a feminist for a simple sentence, and finally had to delete the post to calm the storm.
In "To the Truth", Shirley, like her on social media, has almost no scruples about expressing her views on feminism, "Women should not speak loudly, or have clear opinions, this concept is contrary to my personality";
"Men can talk openly about sex, lust, dissatisfaction, but women can be reprimanded for doing so."
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Choi Shirley and Goo Hara
A month after Shirley's death, her friend, 28-year-old Korean female artist Goo Hara, passed away at home.
In recent years, there have been many examples of suicides by female artists in South Korea, on October 2, 2008, actress Choi Jin was found dead by suicide at her home in Seocho-gu, Seoul; In 2009, actress Zhang Ziyan committed suicide because she couldn't bear the work arranged by her agency, and on October 10, 2011, actress Han Chaewon hanged herself at her home in Seoul on the morning of August 25......
We talked to director Jung Yun-seok about the phenomenon of high-frequency suicide of Korean female idols.
He responded, "I don't think it's just a matter of female idols. Male idols such as Jonghyun and Moon Bin have also made extreme choices. As an example, on July 20, 2021, BTS's (BTS) new song topped the Billboard charts. However, on the same day, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare released data on suicide rates in OECD countries, and South Korea ranked first, more than double the average suicide rate in OECD countries. A society can no longer be sustained at the cost of young people's lives. This is a self-portrait of our shame. ”
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Actor Jung Yu-mi was cursed on the Internet for a year because she announced her role as the heroine of "Kim Ji-young born in 82", and there was also "It's tiring to live as a man in South Korea" in the message
Patriarchy is prevalent in East Asian countries, but it is even stronger in South Korea, and it is hard to imagine that it was not until 2008 that the head of household system was abolished in South Korea (for example, Korean women cannot remarry within six months of divorce, while men are not legally allowed to remarry; mothers cannot raise children at the time of divorce, children must live with their fathers after their parents divorce, and children cannot follow their mother's surname), and the combination of patriarchy and Korean chaebol capitalism seems to have caused more serious problems.
The article "After the release of 'Kim Ji-young', Korean men scored 2.8 points and Korean women scored 9.5 points" published by The Paper, wrote:
71 of the top 100 richest people in the United States are contemporary entrepreneurs.
Of the top 100 richest people in South Korea, 76 are heirs to their parents' wealth.
So, what does South Korea's chaebol-style capitalism have to do with the status of women in South Korea?
There are mainly two levels of impact. One is that the chaebols monopolize everything, the society lacks innovative vitality, the competition for jobs is fierce, and the unemployment rate is high. The chaebols crush small businesses, and small businesses squeeze their employees. This also exacerbates the disadvantage of women in the job market, and women are actively or forced to be squeezed into the family.
On the other hand, the contradiction between male and female job seekers has been transformed into a contradiction between men and women, and men and women are in a tense and antagonistic relationship.
Patriarchy is the common enemy of both men and women. When Korean women are locked into the identity of "good wives and good mothers", Korean men are also burdened with the heavy burden of providing for their families, achieving fame, and honoring their ancestors. A Korean man has to work hard and hard to meet society's expectations of him, or he will be a failure.
"Feminism was born out of a critique of patriarchy, but I think 'feminism' is not just for women. If we dream of a better world, we can all be feminists. ”
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Cui Xueli's ins avatar picture
After the production of the film "To the Truth" was completed, Jung Yun-seok first screened it for Choi Xueli's mother and brother, and obtained their consent.
"Getting Shirley's mother's consent was one of my biggest goals, and after the broadcast, Shirley's mother said that it was beautiful, and that she would see me as her son, and I said that sons are generally disobedient, so I didn't accept that. ”
In the past 4 years, Jung Yun-seok still has not fully understood Shirley's final choice, "In the past 4 years of making this movie, I have thought more about death and Shirley's life, and I began to watch a lot of physics films and shows, wondering what time is and whether there is a way to turn back time." ”
In the final chapter of "To the Truth" "Kansas", Jung Yun-seok asks Shirley, what do you want to say in three minutes?
She didn't say anything except for a moment, embarrassed and overwhelmed when she asked how much time was left.
The video comes to an abrupt halt, black screen, deulrae likes, c_h_o_i0x0 likes...... 1362260 likes," this ending is the number of "likes" shown in the deceased's Instagram avatar, symbolizing the farewell of the protagonist and fans. Four years on, Truth's account has grown to more than 6.8 million followers. She is still missed by many. ”
Just like the message of a female netizen, "The girl I have never met, you have said enough for me." ”
Special thanks to: Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing