Late K-pop star Kim Jonghyun showed all the signs of being highly gifted, a type of personality recently recognized by psychologists. Highly gifted people share most of these characteristics: a high intelligence with an unusual mode of thinking where the use of concepts is the norm instead of linear thoughts, with an awareness of complex relationships, and superior abilities to reason. They have an heightened capacity to appreciate beauty and wonderment due to highly developed senses; they are aware of things others do not perceive. They crave sharing their ideas and discoveries: they like intense intellectual discussions, have an inner urge to fulfill their own expectations, and they feel guilt and low self-esteem when their goals are not reached, even if nobody else knows. They show an acute sense of justice, are passionate, and have intense feelings.

Highly gifted people are avid readers, have remarkable abilities with numbers and languages, possess an extensive vocabulary, and have a great sense of humour (subtle meanings, intricate puns). They are  quick learners, self-taught, and perfectionists; they have long attention spans, a wide range of interests, a high degree of energy, and can run their mind on multiple tracks at the same time, like following two simultaneous conversations, or talking and writing at the same time. They know things without learning, are self-disciplined, self-sufficient, tolerant of complexity, imaginative and original, highly curious, artistic, creative, perceptive, and adaptable. They do not follow trends but predict and create them.

They experience all of life differently and more intensely than those around them.

Highly gifted people are often seen as quirky, eccentric, non-conforming, too friendly, too sensitive, and too intense (making them ‘’burdensome’’, as Jonghyun said about himself). They are prone to question authority but stick to the rules if they accept them as logical. They are introverts unable to switch off their thinking, and need periods of contemplation. They are their own worst critics, have a low self-esteem, and tend to dislike themselves. They long for understanding but people are often hostile towards them, finding their behaviour tiresome. Being very lucid and overly sensitive, they choose isolation to prevent themselves from getting hurt. They feel socially inadequate, experiencing frequent awkward social interactions. They are friendly but do not have any close friends (or maybe one). They are often in distress, depressed, and extremely lonely, which in some cases might lead to addiction and suicide.

According to his parting letter, Jonghyun seemed to have known about being gifted. Being highly gifted is not an illness, and should not be diagnosed and treated as a mental issue. Behaviour that might be seen as problematic in most people is completely normal for a highly gifted person operating in a natural manner: they need few hours of sleep, are obsessed with learning, experimenting, and sharing ideas, and their constant internal stress is a tool that helps them resolve their concerns. When in trouble, the use of mainstream psychology and medication will not help, as the unease is mostly due to their unconventional mode of thinking coupled with their heightened perception, making highly gifted people slightly out of step with those around them.

Jonghyun bravely opened up in his songs, in his book, on his radio show, and in some interviews (especially on the TV show ‘’4 Things Show’’ in 2015), but he wrote “I hoped for people to notice but no one knew. They've never met me so of course they didn't know I existed.” He claimed Approval Over Understanding as his motto, but to a highly gifted person, that is not quite enough.

Entertainment agencies would unknowingly be attracted to this type of personality: energetic, intelligent, perfectionist, disciplined, multi-talented. While highly gifted people make up about 2% of the population, with roughly an equal number of men and women, there is probably a concentration of them among artists, especially idols, and fame could be the hardest thing for them to handle.

So what was wrong with Kim Jonghyun? The trigger was very likely exhaustion: it kept him from steering himself out of his depression, as highly gifted people manage to do regularly. He probably hated himself for not performing as well as he wished, making him oblivious to the love and support sourrounding him. He needed guidance, not medication or platitudes from his doctor; meeting and sharing with other highly gifted people would have been a great help. Feeling extremely lonely, he had been too long in his ‘’JONGHYUN the Idol’’ mode, and could not see his way back to being Kim Jonghyun, the man he wished people had known and loved.