Reality TV show axed after suicide
Print Edition
A South Korean television station said yesterday it has pulled the plug on a popular matchmaking show after the shock suicide of a female contestant sparked a storm of criticism.
The decision by SBS, one of South Korea’s three major TV stations, came two days after the 29-year-old committed suicide during a weeklong production shoot on the southern island of Jeju.
“We have decided to close the show,” the broadcaster said in a statement, apologizing to viewers and pledging steps aimed at preventing similar incidents.
Police said the woman, surnamed Chun, apparently hanged herself with a hair dryer cord.
The weekly show “Jjak” (The Mate), known for putting its contestants under intense emotional pressure, sequesters about 10 men and women in the same guesthouse, dubbed “Lovetown,” for a week while they are filmed by TV crew and surveillance cameras.
Participants, clad in matching uniforms, are put through physical challenges in the hope of getting a date with one of their fellow contestants, before making a final choice at the end of the week.
SBS did not accept any direct responsibility for Chun’s suicide, but newspapers have carried interviews with past participants who spoke of feeling bullied and humiliated.
Chun was favored by three male contestants at the start of the shoot, but they had a change of heart and ended up competing over another woman.
Chun’s mother told one newspaper that in their last telephone conversation her daughter said that she would not be able to live in South Korea if the show aired. Friends said she also complained that the producers were trying to depict her as an unpopular, “tragic girl.”
Police are investigating whether the show and its producers played any role in Chun’s decision to take her own life, and are examining video footage recorded in the past week.
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