Han Geng Admits Career Woes Caused Him To Have Suicidal Thoughts While He Was In Super Junior

Five years ago, 29-year-old Chinese singer Han Geng appeared to be on top of the world.

As one of the more prominent members of the K-pop boy band Super Junior, Han, then known as Hankyung, was a frequent guest on South Korean variety shows like "Love Letter and Star Golden Bell."

But beneath the glitz and glamour, the star suffered intense emotional distress that led him to even contemplate suicide.

In an interview Saturday for the Beijing Television program "Top Chinese Music," Han, who also fronted his band's subgroup Super Junior-M, said it was his floundering acting career that initially led to his depression.

"Back in 2008, I said that I really wanted to be an actor, but my wish wasn't fulfilled," Han recalled.

"I felt really stifled, and just shut myself to the whole word. 'Other members were able to go into acting, but why wasn't I able to? Other members went to film commercials, but why wasn't I able to?' There were many issues that I just kept bottled up, but they kept accumulating until they became a huge bomb. It will be really devastating once that bomb goes off. [I thought], 'what if I committed suicide?'"

Although he never harmed himself, depression led the pop star, who lit the torch at the Beijing Olympic Games the same year, to make a serious career decision.

"I felt that I should live a happy life, and work happily. So one day, I secretly took all my papers, and headed for a Korean law office," Han said.

"I couldn't be found out by my company, and felt that I had really done a big thing."

In 2009, the singer filed a lawsuit against Super Junior's record label S.M. Entertainment claiming the terms of his contract were unfair.

Han settled with the label in 2011 and is currently working as an actor and singer in China, according to the Korea Daily Star.

He admitted that early on as a member of Super Junior, his primary motivation was financial.

"At that time, I only wanted to debut, because I would be able to earn money once I debuted. I told myself then that I must earn money," Han said.

"I never had any thoughts then on being an entertainer, or how famous I would be if I was a singer, or becoming a big star. I never thought about all of that, and my only aim was to make money so that my parents can lead a more comfortable life. That was my biggest motivation back then."

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Hankyung
Super Junior
Super Junior M
Han Geng
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