A new documentary featuring a late K-pop star’s final interview unveils complex truths about South Korea’s notoriously brutal music industry while highlighting her defiance of pressure to conform to societal norms.
“Dear Jinri”, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, revolves around singing star Sulli’s last Netflix project, an unfinished film that included an in-depth interview.
Born Choi Jin-ri, Sulli took her own life in 2019 at age 25, after a long struggle with online bullying. The interview in the film — raw, powerful and heartbreaking — has never been previously seen.
What Sulli shares in that conversation raises “many critical issues in our society,” director Jung Yoon-suk said after the film’s BIFF screening Saturday evening.
“These can be seen as issues related to women, or they could be problems concerning the vulnerable in our society, or related to matters of equality,” he said.
Sulli, who began her career as a child actress at age 11, made her debut in 2009 for f(x), which quickly became one of K-pop’s top girl groups.
Known for behaviour considered controversial in South Korea — including refusing to wear a bra in public — she faced relentless online bullying and was frequently targeted by sexually abusive comments.
Source : Macau
