Those Who Have Everything

In life we are told, that if we live a glamorous lifestyle and have a lot of money, we will be happy. So it's easy to associate mental illnesses such as depression, with people who are struggling or going through hardship. What about those who have everything though? How could they possibly go through any kind of hardship if they have money, and live a lifestyle that many crave but will never see?, it doesn't make sense. These were the thoughts that were floating around my mind when I was 15 years old and discovered that one of my favourite models, Daul Kim, had hung herself.

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Daul Kim was a South Korean fashion model, painter and blogger who had walked down catwalks at Paris Fashion Week, graced covers of  magazines such as Vogue and walked for notable designers including Vivienne Westwood, Chanel and Alexander McQueen. She was named 'Model of the Year' by Anan magazine in 2008 and even sparked controversy in Korea for posing nude in i-D magazine. As her career developed, she moved to Paris.

The kind of lifestyle she lead, from an outsider's perspective, seems perfect. An elite lifestyle, an image of perfection who could afford anything - that's a happy life, right? It's not until you take a closer look at her blog posts and her paintings, that you see the cracks. She talks about loneliness and depression, and said "i relate to nothing... i just know/the more i gain/the more lonely it is". Her last post in November was titled 'say hi to forever'. It was a tendency to title her posts with 'say hi to' and the 'forever' foreshadowed what her built up feelings would result in. She was only 20, and being 19 going on 20 myself it's just strange to put myself in that situation. However, being older and having gone through a low phase myself, I have more of an understanding of depression. It knows no bounds and it doesn't matter what kind of lifestyle you have, nobody is invisible. I remember feeling so awful and getting mad at myself because "there are people dying out there, what have you got to cry about?". It's a mental illness and I think the sooner people start to understand that, the easier it will get to stop blaming and questioning people who are suffering, and start helping them appropriately.


Daul Kim, (2007-2009), 'I LIKE TO FORK MYSELF',
http://iliketoforkmyself.blogspot.co.uk