The Curse of 13

The Curse of 13

            Thirteen is the natural number after number 12 and it comes before 14. Friday the 13^th is considered as an unlucky day. The Friday 13^th superstition started in the 19^th century. Since then, the fear on number 13 started.

            Number 13 was then considered as a very unlucky number, which is the number of bad luck. I personally don’t think that way as I am a Muslim. There’s no such thing in our religion.

            In 2005, an entertainment company was brave enough to break the curse and make a group called Super Junior made their debut with 13 members, the number that people want to avoid the most.

            Opposite from the said-so curse, Super Junior is a triumphant group. The 13 multi-talented boys are able to expand their career all over Asia and even recognized worldwide.

            However, by releasing the 13-memberred group, the company was skating on thin ice. Things don’t always go exactly like we want. Despite their success, the group had encountered numerous difficulties and restrictions. Some of the members were involved in two accidents after their debut. In one of the accidents, the thirteenth member, who’s also the youngest in the group, faced a situation between life and death in 2007.

            The boy, Cho Kyuhyun who had just finished his high school as one of the best students in his school at that time could not even breathe with his own lungs. To stay alive, he must undergo the tracheal operation to take out the broken ribs that pierced his lungs. To everyone surprise, his father, the one that never agrees on him becoming a singer was against the operation. He knew that his son’s dream is to sing and if his one and only ability to fulfill his dream is gone, he had better been dead than living a meaningless life. The doctors figured out another way to save him while anti fans wanted him to be dead. With 80% of risks to be dead, Kyuhyun managed to break the curse of 13. The thirteenth member survived.

            The curse of 13 continued to hunt them when a problem occurs. One of the dancing machines in the group, Han Geng, the Chinese member of Super Junior, made a decision to back off from the group and go solo. The Chinese man was once facing a hard time because of performance restriction, as in Korea, only the nation’s citizen was allowed to perform on stage at that time. Not wanting to damage the group’s image, he decided to suffer and went on stage wearing a mask. The restriction was then lifted in 2008.

            Han Geng filed a lawsuit towards the company, SM Entertainment in 2009. It was said that SMe violated the human rights, not only to him but also the rest of the artists that worked under the company. The result is not yet revealed to the public. Although Han Geng had released a solo album, ‘Geng Xin’ without signing a contract with any other companies, he is still considered as a member of Super Junior but in an inactive member status.

            Although the storm was away, the day is still raining. Hoping that the rainbow will come out, the members and the fans were disappointed with the fact that another storm hit them again. Kangin was immersed in his anger and created a controversial situation. He was banned to go on stage for a year and cannot continue his activity as a Super Junior member and an entertainer. Just like that, another ‘inactive member’ status was turned on. It seems like the curse of 13 really do exist.

            The 13 boys also encountered an ample amount of challenges and all sorts of difficulties along their journey. Anti fans continued to bring them down. The curse of 13 maybe does really exist. However, they managed to face the curse with their strong brotherly bond.

            I have no any intentions to believe that 13 is an unlucky, cursed number nor trying to make you believe that. Super Junior’s accomplishment makes me think that they were all wrong and maybe 13 is not an unlucky number at all.

t/n : this was written in 2010.
p/s : Hangeng has won the lawsuit against SM which also means that the 'Super Junior member' status isn't his anymore and he is now an entertainer in China. He sings and also acts.Kangin is now in the army, trying to fix himself to be a better person.He will return in 2012. Some other Super Junior members are planning to enlist in the army to fulfil their duties towards the country. I wish the best for all of them.