It was revealed overnight by The Cut that 20 year old Korean model Daul Kim was found dead in Paris yesterday morning. Her modeling agency, Next released the following statement:
“She was a top model and a great friend to all of us at Next. Please respect her family’s privacy at this time of sadness. We will all miss her very much.”
There is no word on how Kim passed away, but there are rumours that the cause of death was suicide. Suicide is a national problem in South Korea, recently surpassing Japan as country with the highest suicide rate among the 30 OECD countries.
If you look back at some of Kim’s recent posts she talked about how she was “getting mad depressed and overworked” during her time in her home town of Seoul, South Korea. The highlight of her trip was the Dazed and Confused party in Seoul where she DJ’d.
“I dj-ed and it sucked. Everyone just stared and took photos and left,” Kim wrote. “Cos of starring, and not dancing I was like…. uhm….okay what should I do. Should I pose?”
“So I just drank a lot. Danced. And take photos with minkoo <3 youweresleeping.com. And my agent was like…. panic ….”
“It’s like… people tell me to do something, and I do it, and then they always tell me don’t do anything. And when i don’t do anything they also tell me to do something.”
“So I left seoul and im in paris <3”
“I’m happy!!!!!!!!”
That post was dated October 30, 2009. Just under three weeks ago.
Our thoughts go out to your family and friends.
Some video of Daul Kim from happier times:
