It is often said that celebrities are nor public figures because they are not executing government official duties. However, I believe entertainers are public figures for two reasons; one, is their influence on society; and the other, is their willingness to open their private lives to the public at large.
    To begin, celebrities exercise significant social influence, especially on their fans. This is because celebrities are widely known throughout the general public.
    Famous Korean sports stars such as Ji-sung Park-a soccer player-and Yuna Kim-a figure skater-are also famous Korean sports stars receiving spotlight. Entertainers indeed make a great impact on the public. For example, the rate of Korean celebrities' suicide has been highly increasing and that to my point of copycat suicide has increased as well. The term 'Werther Effect' (which means the)massive wave of emulation suicides after a widely publicized suicide, following Goethe's novel Thc Sorrows of Young Werther) was coined. The influence of celebrities should not be overlooked.
    In addition, stars sacrifice a huge part of their personal lives. Their private lives are open to the public. The news media tracks them down. As a consequence, the celebrities arc bound to suffer from extreme stress or mental illness. For example, the private life of a Korean famous entertainer, Jung-hwan Shin, who was addicted to gambling, was revealed by every media outlet. He became a disgraced man. As penalty, his appearance on TV is banned. His case highlights thar entertainers are public figures.

 

 

By  Choi Ha-young , Junior 
Dept. of English Language & Literature

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