"Korea is Our Life": Inside the Chilling Diaries of the Ghaziabad Sisters

In a tragedy that has sent shockwaves through the Delhi-NCR region, three minor sisters (aged 16, 14, and 12) jumped from their 9th-floor apartment in Bharat City, Ghaziabad, in the early hours of February 4. The investigation has moved beyond a simple suicide case into a chilling exploration of digital addiction, extreme social withdrawal, and a cult-like obsession with Korean pop culture.

Police recovered an eight-page diary where the sisters—who had not attended school for five years—referred to themselves as "Korean princesses" and utilized fictional names like Maria, Aliza, and Cindy. The sisters reportedly entered into a suicide pact after their father, Chetan Kumar, confiscated their mobile phones to break their immersion in what investigators initially termed a "task-based interactive love game." This case marks a critical turning point in the national conversation regarding the "hidden" children of the post-pandemic digital era.

The Context (How We Got Here)

• The Trigger: On the night of Feb 3, the sisters locked themselves in a prayer room after their father sold their shared mobile phone for ₹3,500 and forced them to delete a social media account with 2,000 followers.
• The Background: The sisters dropped out of school in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and never returned. Over five years, they became "Ghost Children," socially isolated from their neighborhood and living entirely within a digital "Korean" reality.
• The Escalation: The suicide note found on a glass panel read: "You pulled us away from Korean culture... now you know how much we love it." The final act saw two sisters jumping while holding hands, followed immediately by the third.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

Nishika, Prachi, & Pakhi (The Sisters): The victims of extreme "digital enmeshment." They believed they were not Indian but Korean, a phenomenon psychologists are now calling Cultural Dysmorphia fueled by algorithm-driven content.

Chetan Kumar (The Father): A forex trader living a complex domestic life with two wives (who are sisters). His attempt to "cold turkey" his daughters' addiction triggered the fatal crisis, highlighting the lack of parental resources for digital de-addiction.

Nimish Patil (DCP, Trans-Hindon): The lead investigator who initially flagged a "Korean Love Game" angle but is now shifting focus toward the broader psychological impact of K-drama and K-pop on isolated minors.

The BIGSTORY Reframe (The Indian "Hikikomori")

While headlines scream about "Deadly Korean Games," the real story is the Sovereignty of the Digital Bubble. These girls were suffering from a localized version of Hikikomori—a Japanese term for extreme social withdrawal.

By dropping out of school for five years, they lost all real-world anchors. The "Korean culture" they obsessed over was not the actual country of South Korea, but an idealized, algorithmic version of it that served as their only emotional safe haven. When their phones were taken away, it wasn't just "losing a device"; to them, it was a forced "deportation" from the only world they felt they belonged to. This tragedy exposes a massive failure in community surveillance and the education system’s inability to track "Lost Pandemic Students."

The Implications (Why This Matters)

• Digital Wellness Policy: The Economic Survey 2025-26 has already flagged "digital addiction" as a public health threat. This case will likely fast-track the Digital Wellness Curriculum in schools.
• Algorithm Accountability: Lawmakers may pressure platforms like YouTube and Instagram to restrict "Sad-fishing" and "melancholic tragedy" loops that romanticize self-harm to vulnerable minors.
• Neighborhood Vigilance: RWAs across NCR are now being urged to identify "invisible children"—minors who are out of school and permanently indoors—to prevent similar isolated tragedies.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If the digital world becomes the only place our children feel "at home," are we prepared for the consequences when that world is switched off?

FAQs

What Korean game caused the Ghaziabad sisters' suicide? Initial reports suggested a "Korean Love Game" with 50 tasks, but police currently believe it was a general obsession with K-culture, K-dramas, and social media rather than one specific app.

Why did the three sisters jump in Ghaziabad? The girls were reportedly distressed after their father restricted their phone access and sold their mobile device to curb their extreme digital addiction.

Did the Ghaziabad sisters leave a suicide note? Yes, an eight-page diary and a note scribbled on a glass panel were found. The note said, "Sorry Papa... Korea is our life."

Was there a Burari connection in the Ghaziabad case? While the family originally hails from Burari, there is no evidence of "shared psychosis" involving religious rituals. The connection is primarily geographic and in the "mass suicide" nature of the event.

How long had the sisters been out of school? The sisters had been out of formal education since the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, leading to five years of social isolation.

Sources

News Coverage

• The Economic Times: What is the Korean lover game that turned fatal for Ghaziabad sisters?
• Hindustan Times: Korean fixation, family dynamics in focus after Ghaziabad sisters jump to death

Context & Analysis

• Indian Express: They lived in parallel ‘Korean’ universe online: Ghaziabad police
• Insights IAS: Rising Digital Addiction and Mental Health Problems - Economic Survey 2025-26