Goo Hara — often referred to as Hara — was a South Korean singer and actress best known for being a member of the K-pop girl group Kara. Born on Jan. 3, 1991, in Kwangju, South Korea, she tragically passed away in the country’s capital city, Seoul, on Nov. 24, 2019, at the age of just 28.
As an actress, Hara’s credits included the movies Kara The Animation (2013) and Sound of a Footstep (2017), as well as television shows Hero, Urakara, City Hunter, and It’s Okay, That’s Love. She also appeared in reality shows Invincible Youth and Strong Heart.
She debuted as a solo artist in 2015, and following Kara’s initial disbandment in 2016 (they’re now back together and honoring Hara’s legacy), she continued her solo career. Her most successful solo single was 2015’s “Choco Chip Cookies,” which featured rapper Giriboy. It peaked at number 21 on Korea’s Circle Digital Chart.
But what happened to end her life at such a tragically young age?
How did Goo Hara die?
Goo Hara was found dead at her home in the Cheongdam-dong ward of Gangnam District in Seoul. Heartbreakingly, her death was ruled as a suicide, with no foul play evident. Police had found a note left by the singer and, given she returned home at 12:40 a.m., with no further visitors shown on CCTV apart from her housekeeper, who found her body at 6 p.m. that same day, Hara taking her own life was the conclusion.
No confirmed reasons for Hara’s actions have been publicly released. While it’s in bad taste to speculate, one possible reason was that she had been dealing with a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend, hairdresser Choi Jong-Bum, who had assaulted her and blackmailed her with a private tape (as per Korea JoongAng Daily).
Hara had also endured the loss of a close friend a month before her passing. Actress and singer Choi Jin-ri — professionally known as Sulli — had taken her own life by hanging herself in October 2019.
Regardless of her reasoning, we sincerely hope Goo Hara is now at peace.
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