Kim Jang Hoon collapses in concert

This should be subtitled, “Korea: The Land of Overworked Pop Stars.”

Kind of a frightening sight, isn’t it?

Singer Kim Jang Hoon collapsed in concert on June 28 and was sent to the emergency room while performing as part of the “West Coast Festival” concert being held for the benefit of revitalizing the local economy after the oil spill devastated the region last year. After singing only two songs, Kim collapsed onstage, in the middle of singing his third, “Champion.” He recovered consciousness in the ambulance, but his condition is described as “requiring absolute rest.”

It seems we get another singer/actor/celebrity collapsing every other week or so, with “overwork” and “exhaustion” cited as the overwhelming culprit. Granted, it used to be that “exhaustion” was the catch-all word for American celebrity hospitalizations too, but we all know that’s just code for less-savory reasons like drug abuse or Britney-esque meltdowns. At least in Korea, exhaustion does actually seem to be the actual reason. It certainly was for Kim Jang Hoon, who’d reportedly overworked himself in preparation for his performance, getting only an hour of sleep a night for the past week.

He wasn’t able to continue the concert, although fellow singers continued after he was sent to the hospital. Members of punk-rock band No Brain and Super Junior (pictured below) headed to the hospital to visit Kim afterward.