K-pop singer and actress Sulli found dead at home aged 25, was battling social anxiety and panic attacks
K-pop star Sulli was found dead at her house in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam, in the Gyeonggi province of South Korea, at the age of 25 on Monday, October 14.
The singer's manager found her dead body when he went to her house at 3:20 pm after failing to reach her on the phone.
Although the initial assumption is that she might have committed suicide, an official cause of death has not been determined. The Seoul police are investigating her death, according to BBC.
Sulli, real name Choi Jin-ri, was a former member of the band F(x) until she left in 2015 to focus on her acting career. Many believed that she quit her singing career after struggling to get past the online abuse that she was being subjected to, Metro reported.
She rose to fame in 2005 when she played Princess Seonhwa of Silla in the SBS drama 'Ballad of Seodong'; at the age of 11.
After quitting her band, she appeared in films such as 'The Pirates,' 'Fashion King and Real' and TV dramas like 'To The Beautiful You' and 'Hotel Del Luna.'
She also won the Best New Star award at the SBS Drama Awards in 2012 for her role as Goo Jae-hee in 'To The Beautiful You.'
Sulli has been open about dealing with social anxiety and panic attacks. "Social phobia, panic disorder... I’ve had panic disorder ever since I was young. There were times when close people, some of my closest friends, have left me. People hurt me, so everything fell apart. I didn’t feel like I had anyone on my side or anyone who could understand me. So that’s why I completely fell apart," she said in a teaser for her reality show 'Jinri Store' last year.
In 2017, she told the magazine Grazia that she saw herself pursuing a lifelong career in acting.
"I do think lately that I could be an actress for the rest of my life. I’ve been thinking that I match very well to 'this place.' I used to believe that I didn’t. I would look at people who were different from me, and think, 'I won’t make it. Those people are the ones who should be celebrities.' But recently, I’ve been thinking, 'Actually, that’s not true. There’s a place for me too.' I have a bit more confidence, and I feel more of a sense of achievement and responsibility to my work now." she said.