Jang Ja-yeon
Jang Ja-yeon (25 January 1980 – 7 March 2009) was a South Korean actress. She was born in Jeongeup, South Korea. She debuted in the entertainment industry when she appeared in a television commercial in 2006.
Also recorded as Chang Ja-yeon · Jang Ja Yun · Jang Ja Yeon
Jang Ja-yeon
- Name
- Jang Ja-yeon
- Born
- 25 January 1980
- Birthplace
- Jeongeup, South Korea
- Died
- 7 March 2009
- Place of death
- Seongnam, South Korea
- Occupation
- Actress
- Nationality
- South Korea.
- Education
- Chosun University.
- Languages
- Korean.
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Documentary summary
Jang Ja-yeon (25 January 1980 – 7 March 2009) was a South Korean actress. She was born in Jeongeup, South Korea. She debuted in the entertainment industry when she appeared in a television commercial in 2006.
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Jang Ja-yeon (1980–2009) was an actor, actress and film actor, of South Korean nationality. The actor was born in Jeongeup and died in Seongnam. Jang Ja-yeon was educated at Chosun University. Languages used include Korean.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q292741 · wikipedia · Jang Ja-yeon
In this article
Biography
Biography
Her death caused a national scandal in 2009 when it was widely reported that she had been sexually and physically abused by a number of prominent entertainment executives during her career, including the CEO of Jang's former talent agency, The Contents Entertainment, Kim Sung-hoon. After three witness testified against the CEO, Kim was found guilty of abuse by the Korean courts, specifically of forcing girls from his agency to come to his birthday party where he forced them to sexually entertain the executives.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jang Ja-yeon • Native Name — 장자연 • Born — 25 January 1980 • Birthplace — Jeongeup, South Korea • Died — 7 March 2009 • Place of death — Seongnam, South Korea • Death Cause — Suicide by hanging • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 2006–2009 Jang Ja-yeon (25 January 1980 – 7 March 2009) was a South Korean actress. She was born in Jeongeup, South Korea. She debuted in the entertainment industry when she appeared in a television commercial in 2006. She was known for being part of the KBS television drama series Boys Over Flowers as Sunny, one of the antagonists of the series, at the time of her death. She died by suicide on 7 March 2009 at the age of 29. At the time of her death, Jang had been suffering from depression, and it was revealed in 2019 that the initial investigation into her death in 2009 had been corrupt. The 2009 investigation had concluded that her death was a suicide, but the investigation was reopened in 2018. Her death caused a national scandal in 2009 when it was widely reported that she had been sexually and physically abused by a number of prominent entertainment executives during her career, including the CEO of Jang's former talent agency, The Contents Entertainment, Kim Sung-hoon. After three witness testified against the CEO, Kim was found guilty of abuse by the Korean courts, specifically of forcing girls from his agency to come to his birthday party where he forced them to sexually entertain the executives.
2006–2009: Acting debut with Boys Over Flowers
2006–2009: Acting debut with Boys Over Flowers
Jang made her debut in 2006 in a television commercial. Her big break came in Boys Over Flowers playing the role of Sunny, one of a trio of girls who antagonize the female lead played by Ku Hye-sun. At the time of her death, Jang was awaiting the release of her first two films, They Are Coming and Penthouse Elephant. Jang was known to have had difficulties with her management agency.
Personal life
Personal life
Since the death of her parents in a traffic accident in 1999, Jang had been living with her older sister and younger brother. Prior to her own death, Jang had been suffering from clinical depression and had received medical treatment for her condition during the past year.
Death and later investigation
Death and later investigation
Jang died by suicide. She was found in her home in the Bundang District of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on 7 March 2009. During a phone call at 3:30 p.m. that afternoon, Jang had complained to her sister about the "overwhelming stress" she was under, saying that she "wanted to die". Having later been unable to reach her on the phone, Jang's sister returned to their shared home at 7:42 p.m. to find her body. A police investigation concluded that her death was a suicide, and found no evidence of foul play. Jang is believed to have killed herself at around 4:30 pm. According to widespread South Korean entertainment news reports, it was believed that Jang claimed that her agent Kim Sung-hoon had regularly beaten her and forced her to sleep with a string of VIPs, including directors, media executives and CEOs. Kim Sung-hoon, who was in Japan, denied the accusations. It was unconfirmed that Jang wrote a 7-page note listing at least 31 names of media executives, CEOs, and directors that she claimed she was forced into having sex with. South Korean police have suppressed the full list. Later on, it was also reported that the 7-page note might not be written by Jang herself. The former manager of Jang's management agency, Kim Sung-hoon, was arrested in Tokyo, Japan in June 2009 for overstaying his visa. Korean police requested Kim's extradition on a warrant related to Jang's death. At the time of his arrest, Kim stated that he "committed a crime in South Korea and overstayed in Japan to avoid being arrested". Twenty figures were investigated by the police, resulting in seven prosecutions. Kim was sentenced to one year in jail, two years of probation and 160 hours of community service. Approximately 250,000 fans visited Jang's website on the day of her death to express their condolences, with a further 700,000 visiting the site the following day, while the entire cast of Boys Over Flowers paid their last respects at the mourning hall set up at the Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang. Jang's funeral was held there on 9 March, and was attended by family, friends and fellow actors, including Boys Over Flowers lead Ku Hye-sun. Her cremated remains were buried next to her parents in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province. In 2019, President Moon Jae-in issued a thorough re-investigation into Jang's case as well as a proper investigation into the Burning Sun scandal and the sex scandal of former high-ranking Ministry of Justice official, Kim Hak-eui. Jang's former labelmate, Yoon Ji-oh, came forward publicly with her testimony about the agency's mistreatment of Jang as a result of the reopened investigation into Jang's death. Later on, Jang's ex-boyfriend, Mr. Choi, came forward to suspect Yoon's intention as she was promoting her book regarding Jang's death and also receiving money via her crowdfunding accounts regarding the case. Choi declared that Yoon was not a friend of Jang and had never heard of Yoon's name when Jang was alive. Due to Yoon's inconsistent testimonies over the years and her other allegations of lies, defamation and fraud, the South Korean government has issued 3 arrest warrants on Yoon since October 2019, including one red arrest warrant by the International Criminal Police Agency (ICPO, Interpol) to arrest Yoon. Yoon is currently in Canada. Yoon is also being sued by the people from South Korea who donated money to her. Due to the controversy of Jang's case and the rumors since Jang's death, all the accusations from the media could not be used as evidence to press charges on any figures involved. Thus, Jang's former manager, Kim Sung-hoon is the only person who has been arrested so far in this case.
Television
Television
• Year — Title — Role — Ref. • 2009 — Boys Over Flowers — Sunny
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
2009
Jang Ja-yeon died at Seongnam.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Jeongeup.
Birth place
Seongnam.
Death place
In film
In film
Her case inspired the 2013 film Norigae.
Film
Film
• Year — Title — Role — Ref. • 2009 — Searching for the Elephant — Hye-mi • The Weird Missing Case of Mr. J — Min-a
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Jang Ja-yeon”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q292741: Jang Ja-yeon
Unverified · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Nate Pann. 2019-03-13.
- 2.Carey, Alexis. South Korean TV star Jang Ja-yeon's suicide note claimed she was abused by high-profile figures. news.com.au. 2018-04-05.
- 3.Jang, Joo-young. New figure emerges in the Jang case. Korea JoongAng Daily. 2009-03-26.
- 4.Kim, Yon-se. Actress Jang forced to sexually entertain: appeals court. The Korea Herald. 2014-10-12.
- 5.Chung Ah-young. Boys over Flowers' Actress Jang Found Dead in Apparent Suicide. The Korea Times. 8 March 2009.
- 6.Glionna, John M. In South Korea's entertainment industry, exploitation remains an issue. Los Angeles Times. 9 January 2011.
- 7.Actress Jang Ja-yeon in Apparent Suicide. Digital Chosunilbo. 9 March 2009.
- 8.Kim Mi-ju. Actress from 'Boys Over Flowers' hangs herself. Korea JoongAng Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. 9 March 2009.
- 9.Kwon Mee-yoo. Late Actress Was Forced to Have Sex With Showbiz VIPs. The Korea Times. 15 March 2009.
- 10.Park Si-soo. Police Tracing Sex Contacts of Late Actress Jang. The Korea Times. 15 March 2009.
- 11.McCurry, Justin. Storm in South Korea over Jang Ja-yeon's suicide. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 1 April 2009.
- 12.Park, Si-soo. Jang Ja-yeon scandal resurfaces. The Korea Times. 7 March 2011.
- 13.Netizens uncover offenders' names from the 'Jang Ja Yeon list'. Allkpop. 8 March 2011.
- 14.S. Korean held over starlet's suicide. Japan Times Weekly. 4 July 2009.
- 15.Suicide Actress 'Forced into Sex with 31 Influential Figures'. The Chosun Ilbo. 7 March 2011.
- 16."Boys over Flower" actress Jang Ja-yeon Laid to Rest. KBS World. 9 March 2009.
- 17.The Korea Economic Daily. 2019-11-07.
- 18.Hankook Ilbo. 2019-11-07.
- 19.케이앤뉴스 KN NEWS.
- 20.[故장자연·김학의 사건 재조사] [속보]경찰, '장자연 사건' 증인 자처 윤지오 체포영장. Kyunghyang Shinmun. 2019-10-30.
- 21.Hankook Ilbo. 2019-10-30.
- 22.이, 유경. MBC News. 2019-10-30.
- 23.JoongAng Ilbo. 2019-10-23.
- 24.한수지. '故 장자연 사건 증인' 윤지오, 체포영장 발부…거짓말-사기 의혹 등 사건 정리. 톱스타뉴스. 2019-10-30.
- 25.YTN. 2019-10-30.
- 26.Conran, Pierce. Trailer for NORIGAE Seeks Justice. TwitchFilm. 26 March 2013.
- 27.Kim, Tong-hyung. True-story indie films get popular. The Korea Times. 31 March 2013.
- 28.Film inspired by true story lacks sensitivity for real-life victim. 23 April 2013.
- 29.Hangul Celluloid: Director CHOI Seung-ho interview – February 2014. hangulcelluloid.com.
- 30.Kim, Mi-ju. Actress from 'Boys Over Flowers' hangs herself. Korea JoongAng Daily. 9 March 2009.
- 31.Late Korean actress' work invited to Polish film fest. The Korea Herald. 30 March 2010.
- 32.Korean Movie Database.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,408 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Jang Hee-jinPerson
- Jang HoonPerson
- Jang Jae-hyunPerson
- Jang JinPerson
- Jang Jin-youngPerson
- Jang Joon-hwanPerson
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