How Did Yohan Die? Tragic Details On Death Of K-Pop Star At Age 28
Rest in peace, Yohan.
Youtube There has been, unfortunately, yet another death in the K-pop community. News reports released earlier this morning have revealed that Yohan — a former boy bander who remained popular in his solo career — has died. He was just 28 years old.
There have been a lot of tragic deaths — mostly by suicide — in the K-pop community as of late, which begs the question:
How did Yohan die?
His family has not released Yohan's official cause of death — and they refuse to.
Yohan's family issued an official statement through his label, KJ Entertainment. "We are sad to relay the most unfortunate, sorrowful news. On June 16, TST member Yohan left this world. The late Yohan’s family is currently in deep mourning," they said. No cause of death has yet been released, though it goes without saying that there has been some speculation about what, exactly, happened in the K-pop fan community.
On June 22, 2020, Yohan's family made clear that they would not be releasing his cause of death to the public. They have also asked the media to stop speculating on his cause of death, as well.
Yohan's death is just the latest of many K-pop deaths.
K-pop fans have noticed that there has been a recent uptick in deaths amongst their pop stars in recent times. Yohan's death, however shocking to the community, is just the latest of many deaths that have rocked the fandom. The first death to rock the K-pop fandom was the death of Ahn So-jin, a rising pop star, who died in 2015 after falling from the 10th floor of a building. Then, in 2017, Kim Jong-hyun of the popular band SHINee died by suicide. In 2019, Goo Hara and Sulli died six weeks apart from one another, also by suicide, after enduring months of online abuse prior to their deaths. And, in December 2019, singer and actor Cha In Ha died at age 27, though his cause of death was not released.
Funeral plans for Yohan have already been announced.
Even though his death just happened, Yohan's funeral plans have already been announced. Severance Hospital in Sinchon will host his wake, and he will be buried at a cemetery in Yongin on June 18, 2020. The specific location of the cemetery has not been released to the public.
He first found fame in another boy band.
Before he was a member of TST, Yohan — whose given name is Kim Jeong-hwan — first found fame in the popular but short-lived boy band named NOM. Yohan joined the band back when it was known as "Top Secret," and he was considered an original member of the group. The group released their last single, "Countdown," in January 2020.
His last Instagram post indicated he wanted to travel.
Yohan's last Instagram post was made on May 31, 2020. The caption translated to "I want to travel," which now seems to take on multiple meanings with his fanbase. You can check out the post below.
Some fans are already suggesting that Yohan died by suicide, though that has not been confirmed.
It took no time at all for fans to speculate that Yohan, like many K-pop stars, committed suicide. "Why do stars take their own lives, especially during lockdown?" asked one fan rhetorically, after posting a photo of Yohan. "I hate seeing that we lost another angel, especially to suicide," wrote another. "My heart is broken for all the HANAs and Yohan fans. May he rest in peace," wrote another.
Our thoughts are with Yohan and his family during what is, undoubtedly, a difficult time.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.