Jang Geun Suk Revealed To Have Bipolar Disorder

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

On July 6, Jang Geun Suk’s agency confirmed the actor’s enlistment date and details in an official statement.

Read the official statement below:

“Hello. This is Tree J Company.

“We are delivering our official statement on actor Jang Geun Suk’s enlistment.

“Jang Geun Suk was determined to be a level 4 soldier due to having bipolar disorder when undergoing the physical examination from the Military Manpower Administration. He will begin his military duties when enlisting on July 16. Following this he plans on being a public service worker for two years.

“Due to concerns of crowding and causing trouble to others, he planned on enlisting quietly without informing others. However, he wanted to personally inform fans who have supported him and stayed by his side for 27 years. After he wrote his message on his homepage, we are now relaying our official statement, so we ask for your understanding regarding the late notice.

“Jang Geun Suk was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a university hospital in 2011 and has been asked to be re-examined at every physical examination after this one. The actor’s side has never requested a delay in military enlistment; he has faithfully complied with the Military Manpower Association’s requests for re-examination. Recently, he received his military enlistment notice as a level 4 public service worker.

“Physical examination grade reasons are classified as private information. The fact that we are revealing the status of his health is something we are cautious about.

“However, Jang Geun Suk knows very well that he exists and grew thanks to fans’ interest and love. Even though this is an extremely personal problem, we thought it was our responsibility to clearly inform the public.

“Jang Geun Suk did his best to overcome bipolar disorder and worked very hard to find his own balance even while experiencing side effects from this process. He is sorry that he could not get satisfactory results.

“Jang Geun Suk will receive basic training as a public service worker on July 16 and complete the alternative military service for two years. He will faithfully complete whatever duties he receives with responsibility.

“We will do our best so that he can return healthier and more mature. Thank you.”

Source: Nate via Soompi

Comments

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

public service... of course.

[petecarl.livejournal.com]

?????????

[mikachi613.livejournal.com]

Kudos to his company for talking about this so publicly, especially in a country where mental health is taboo. JGS is certainly brave to claim such a difficult illness as a public figure. The fact that he felt the need to apologize for a disorder he couldn't control or ask for breaks my heart.
I hope that this is received well and that people in SK treat him with respect.

[lechuza-yoya.livejournal.com]

this is such a big thing to do! I hope he dont gets much hate.

[miss-suunshinee.livejournal.com]

i guess this explain why he took so long to enlist ... but i dont know if this would avoid drama or bring even more

at least seem like they're trying to be honest

[juhli.livejournal.com]

It sucks that he has to lay out his mental disorder like that just so he wont get hate for serving as a public service worker instead of as an active soldier.

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

[pseudo-shigure.livejournal.com]

mte

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

And he'll still get hate anyways :/

[shupagirl-uk.livejournal.com]

By the way, can someone explain why a lot of people whether it's fans/anti-fans/k-netizens etc. look down on Korean stars serving as public service workers? Isn't public service for those who are not mentally or physically fit to serve as an active soldier?

Surely that's the reason it's there in the first place. I could understand if someone lied so they wouldn't have to be an active soldier but for those who are genuine, it's not like they asked for their illness.

I know Lee Joon has Bipolar Disorder and that was a shock when it came out but never in a million years would I have thought that Jang Geun Suk suffers from it as well.
I hope he doesn't get any hate just for being honest to his fans and the public.

[nekobot.livejournal.com]

With celebrities they will assume unfair treatment (which probably does happen, we just don't know the extent of it since it's hard to get official stats on this) and in case of mental illness especially people are really harsh because they aren't visible like physical ones are so the general idea is that they're lying to get out of it.

Also secretly no one wants to do public service but it's considered to be one of those things that everyone needs to power through with hardly any exceptions (bootstraps, blah blah), so when someone who is already seen as being privileged also gets special perks to make their time in the army easier people get furious and spiteful that it wasn't them.

Not to forget only men have to enlist. And we all know how they tend to act when they feel like they've been personally slighted or have something taken away from them.

[shupagirl-uk.livejournal.com]

Thank you nekobot for the explanation. :).

[strawberry-efeu.livejournal.com]

Also, according to comments I've read, non-celebrities who have mental illnesses or some physical issue can't really get into public service so, as nekobot said, it is assumed to be unfair treatment. imo celebrities do get unfair treatment in some ways, but that's mostly because if something happens to a celebrity while he's serving it's going to be 10x more difficult for the military to cover it up. So if a celebrity gets special treatment it's more for the sake of the military than the celebrity.

[shupagirl-uk.livejournal.com]

Ah I see, thanks for the info. :)

[bauci.livejournal.com]

How does one overcome bipolar disorder, please let me know.
For real though, I hope he's on medication and his military service will be uneventful