U2 played for a sold-out crowd in Seoul over the weekend and made the show even more meaningful by paying tribute to prominent Korean women which included Kpop idol Sulli, who passed away last October.
According to a report by All Kpop, U2 dedicated their song Ultra Violet (Light My Way) to outstanding Korean women through a Herstory video that played in the background. Among those who were included in the video were female seafood divers of Jeju Island; park Kyung Won, the first female Korean pilot; artist Na Hye Suk; Korea's Me Too whistleblower Seo JI Hyun; Ehwa Women professor Hong Eun Ah; violinist Jung Kyung Hwa; Kyeonggi University professor, and criminal psychologist Lee Soo Jung.
Sulli was included towards the end of the video where the statement read: "Until we are all equal, no one is equal."
It was believed that Sulli was included in U2's video for being a courageous stalwart of women's freedom to be who they want to be.
Over the years, despite being publicly criticized for different aspects of her life, Sulli stayed true to herself and challenged society's views of what an idol should be.After weathering through controversy and suffering from severe online bashing, Sulli stayed in the industry and represented a different breed of an idol and went against the culture of perfection that the public has set for celebrities.
On October 14, Sulli was found dead in her home by her manager at the age of 25. While police refrained from declaring the death as a suicide, it was believed that Sulli took her won life after suffering through depression.
Sulli's death, and the subsequent deaths of her friend and fellow idol Goo Hara, and SURPRISE U member Cha In Ha in November, shone the spotlight on the extreme pressures being endured by Kpop idols who are forced to conform to the public's image of perfection.
The celebrity deaths also prodded lawmakers to propose the Sulli Act, a bill that seeks to penalize malicious commenters and spreaders of false information that defame public figures.
According to a report by SCMP, the National Assembly will tackle the Sulli Act this month to craft a law that will require netizens to use their real names when leaving comments on online threads and forums. The measure is expected to deter malicious behavior and compel citizens to take responsibility for their comments. This will also make it easier for law enforcement officers to track down these commenters and hold them accountable for their actions.
