Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Actor Jang Dong Ju recently shocked the entertainment world by unilaterally announcing his retirement from the industry back on May 15, and things have only escalated from there, though a look into the past reveals a likely reason for his behavior that’s even worse than it seemed on the surface.
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As mentioned, his announcement on May 15 drew most of the attention to the issue, and it hinted at deeper problems even in the moment. The actor said he still owed 700-800 million won in debt despite paying off nearly 3 billion won with the help of others, and that he was unable to continue his acting career due to external debt collection pressure. He claimed that his hackers have been threatening to frame him for drug use if he does not pay them, which is why he talks about a willingness to undergo police drug tests to prove his innocence. He also notably said he would repay his debt rather than going the bankruptcy route.
Three days later, his agency Management W, essentially said that he made the decision unilaterally and they aren’t liable for his choice, “The announcement of actor Jang Dong Ju’s retirement, which has recently circulated through media and social media, was a matter decided unilaterally by the actor himself without any prior discussion or consultation with our agency. Our agency did not receive any prior notice regarding this matter and only became aware of the situation after the announcement was made. This act constitutes highly irresponsible behavior that abandons the responsibility and trust expected of an actor currently under contract. We would like to clarify that the responsibility for the resulting confusion and damages lies entirely with the actor himself. Our agency is doing its utmost to resolve the situation with the relevant parties and partners who have been affected by the actor’s unilateral decision, and we are responding to this matter with the utmost seriousness.“
They also said his actions violated their trust and would thus be evaluating their contract with each other. Seems cold, but undoubtedly done to be clear they don’t want to be on the hook for any contract obligations.
Afterward, many were left scrambling trying to make sense of it, but after looking into things a bit more, in hindsight the decision doesn’t seem that surprising after all. It all points towards something more concerning and sinister at play behind the scenes of all this, though exactly what is unknown.
The beginning of this ordeal actually began around October of last year, when he posted a cryptic message of “I’m sorry” with a black square. That sparked fan concern about his well-being, and things didn’t get better when his agency at the time NEXUS E&M said they had lost contact with him, “We have currently lost contact with Jang Dong Joo. We are also uncertain of what the exact situation is,” revealing that they had last contacted Jang Dong Ju on October 27. The source further revealed that on October 30, he had contacted his parents, saying, “I’ll go home tomorrow (October 31),” but he had yet to come home. Later, they did get in contact with him, “We have found the actor’s whereabouts, and we have confirmed that it is not a bad situation. We apologize for causing concern.”
For a while it seemed like the matter might be settled, but back in January of this year, he revealed he had spent months under pressure from a hacker after his phone was compromised, leading to extortion and financial losses in the tens of millions.
Jang disclosed the incident in a lengthy post on Instagram, saying an unknown caller first contacted him last summer using a burner phone. The hacker later gained full control of his mobile device and began to threaten him.
“From that day on, I lived in hell without a single break,” Jang wrote, “I could not escape despite repeatedly changing my contact information. I had no choice but to do what the hacker told me.”
Jang said the hacker forced him to comply with their demands, pushing him to borrow money by any means possible.
“My family even sold their home to help me raise money,” he said. “But the urgent debt created more debt, and the unpaid debt created even more debt that I could not repay. That is how I lost tens of billions of won, left my family in pain and found myself buried in debt.”
Jang shared messages the hacker sent, where they had access to his photos, texts, and calls.
Again, it appeared like if he was posting about it, maybe it was something he was able to put behind him. However, his sudden retirement clearly indicates that wasn’t the case, and days after the agency’s statement, he uploaded a video of him appearing to cut off his pinky finger (or trying to) in some kind of atonement.
In the post, Jang wrote that he had cut off his finger because he “hated it for making so many promises” he could not keep, adding, “Get a hold of myself. This is the last chance.” It also included an apology for uploading the video, saying he had posted it to “burn the resolution” over what he described as his “failed life” into his mind.
Jang then deleted his social media account, further fueling concern among fans.
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That is essentially where we are now, without updates on the situation in about a week.
It’s possible that he’s doing all of this just to further appease his hacker/blackmailers, though I’ve seen many ask why he doesn’t report this to the authorities. I figure either the blackmail info is that bad or that in order to pay off the so-called debts he owes, he actually did get into shady business with organized crime. Or at least that’s what the pinky finger video makes me think, though it’s possible he’s just trying anything out of desperation at this point.
As alluded to, there’s also the question of what exactly he was so desperate to protect, though that could also just be a matter of a public figure knowing how the public is and letting things snowball over something relatively minute and getting in deeper before it was too late to dig out.
A bleak story without a conclusion, and one that doesn’t seem hopeful going forward either.
