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U;nee

U;nee promoting 3rd Album (2007)

U;nee (유니) was a South Korean singer and actress, born in Seoul on May 3, 1981. She committed suicide on January 21, 2007.

Profile

  • Stage Name: U;nee (유니)
  • Real name: Heo Yoon (허윤)
  • Other names: Lee Hye Ryeon (이혜련)
  • Birthdate: May 3, 1981
  • Deathdate: January 21, 2007 (aged 25)
  • Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
  • Blood Type: O
  • Height: 167cm
  • Weight: 48kg
  • Hobby: Karaoke
  • Special Skill: Dance

Information

Early Career

U;nee promoting Code (2003)

U;nee had a difficult childhood. She was born out of wedlock, and grew up with her grandparents and mother in a fatherless home. Since her childhood, her biggest dream was to become a professional singer.

Prior to her debut in the music scene, however, U;nee made her debut as an actress. U;nee began her career as an actress in the 8th grade under the name Lee Hye-ryeon. She held minor roles in movies, but had some bigger roles on television. Her first work on TV was a KBS drama in 1996.

Before debuting as a singer, U;nee underwent training in dancing, singing, and lyric writing due to her drive to become recognized as a good singer. Finally she launched her evanescent career under the name U;nee with her first album Code. U;nee's style was a blend of techno, pop, hip-hop, and dance. Though her first album had no hit songs, the song "Go" received considerable attention and U;nee gained fans for her very sensuous and bold image.

Controversy

U;nee promoting Passion & Pure (2005)

Late in 2005, U;nee released her second album, 2nd Album. This album gained her a much larger fan base and the song "Call Call Call" was a hit in the local airplay rankings. U;nee however began to receive a lot of harsh criticism from the Korean media due to her overly exaggerated sexual image. The video was even banned from Korean television. Feeling the pressure of the declining market in the Korean industry, U;nee's managers moved to focus U;nee's image completely in her appearance, theorizing that her music alone would not sell. U;nee underwent much cosmetic and plastic surgery to attain an even more voluptuous image. The drastic change however gave her a bad reputation and only earned her more gossip and criticism. At this time, U;nee also appeared in Korean Playboy which did nothing to stop the rumors.

By this point, the majority of U;nee's fans were simply fans of of her sexy image, not of her voice or music. U;nee began to feel a lot of pressure from the criticism she received and her continuously stagnating sales. She began taking antidepressants for her depression, a condition she had endured since a young age. She posted a message on her official site saying: "I feel everything is empty and I am again walking in the direction of a path that I don't know".

In early 2006 U;nee released a maxi-single in Japan under the name Yuni (ユニ) with tragic results. She performed in only a few clubs, including the Velfarre, and became known as the "Korean Koda Kumi".

After the murder of a Malaysian girl by the name of Altantuya Shaaribuu, Singaporean newspapers mistakenly used pictures of U;nee in articles about the murder. E-mails with the pictures were sent to many people, under the subject of "Altantuya@Mongolia". The father of the murdered girl criticized the media for mistaking Altantuya for U;nee and claimed the use of U;nee's pictures was a disgrace to his daughter's name. U;nee suffered serious repercussions for this error and the number of anti-fan sites concerning her increased.

Death

In early 2007, U;nee was set to shoot a new promotional video for her new album. The CD was planned to be released on February 1st, 2007. On January 21, 2007, at around 12:50 PM, U;nee was found hanged from an iron beam of her door frame by a bath towel in her dressing room, 2 meters above the ground in her house in Seo-gu, Incheon, South Korea. Her grandmother, who was merely identified as Lee, found her. Her grandmother immediately called an ambulance, but unfortunately U;nee had already passed away. Her mother and grandparents had been at a church, while U;nee had stayed home. U;nee left no note of suicide or will. U;nee was 25 years old.

Speculations about her death soon arose. U;nee, earlier, had shown symptoms of depression and her mother assured in a press conference at the hospital, that she was occasionally on medication. Another reason that may justify U;nee's suicide was the severe criticism and anti-sites that referred to U;nee, adding to the pressure that she had felt since she was young and the failing sales of her CDs. Her body was soon taken to World Hospital of Korea where it was cremated. Many of her friends came to the funeral service to pray for her. Maya, one of U;nee's friends, stated that the previous night, U;nee had sent a message to her to say Hi. U;nee's death moved more than 3,000 Koreans to post messages of condolences on her homepage. Some people were shocked when they received the notice, because she was about to release her third album. U;nee's death also appeared in numerous Asian and Western newspapers. Her third album was going to be canceled by her label, but with the permission from her family, 3rd Album was posthumously released.

Korean Discography

U;nee promoting "One" (2006)

Albums

Japanese Discography

Single

  • [2006.02.22] One (ワン)

Filmography

Dramas

Movies

External Links

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