The late Jeon Yu-seong, who led Korea's comedy world, has gone to rest, leaving many juniors to see him off.
At 6 a.m. on the 28th, a funeral procession for the late Jeon Yu-seong was held at the Seoul Asan Medical Center funeral hall. It was originally scheduled for 7 a.m., but it was moved up to allow more people to look back on the deceased's footsteps.
The late Jeon Yu-seong passed away on the night of the 25th. He was 76. The deceased, who had previously undergone a procedure for pneumothorax, was recently hospitalized after his condition worsened, and he ultimately died after remaining in critical condition.
Rumors about the deceased's critical health began on the 24th. In fact, he had been absent from last month's planned Busan International Comedy Festival 'Comedy Book Concert' because of health issues. In this context, a representative for Jeon Yu-seong told OSEN, "Right now pneumothorax has occurred in both lungs, making it difficult to breathe, so he is relying on an oxygen respirator; for now he is conscious and has brief conversations with visitors, but he gets short of breath," and dismissed concerns by saying, "His condition is not good, but it's not serious enough to be considered critical."
However, Kim Hak-rae, president of the Korean Comedians Association, who visited Jeon Yu-seong at the hospital, told OSEN over a phone call, "It's serious. The doctors' predictions have already been off. He should have passed away four to five days ago, but he's still holding on. (According to the hospital's expectations) he should have passed away months ago. When I went yesterday, he was only breathing with an oxygen respirator, and even that breathing was labored," conveying the grave state.
In response, the Korean Comedians Association had been preparing the funeral in advance as a comedian's funeral at the deceased's request. Then on the night of the 25th news of the late Jeon Yu-seong's death was reported, and visitors kept coming to pay their respects at the condolence hall set up in Room 1 of the Seoul Asan Medical Center funeral hall. Among those who visited the condolence hall were Korean Comedians Association president Kim Hak-rae and Kang Ho-dong, Ju Byeong-jin, Nam Hee-seok, Lee Bong-won, Kim Yong-man, Kim Kyung-sik, Yoo Jae-seok, Ji Seok-jin, Lee Sugeun, Choi Seung-kyung, Oh Na-ma, Shin Bong-seon, Kim Ji-min, Heo Kyung-hwan, Lee Dong-woo, Nam Chang-hee, Kim Seung-hyun, Choi Byung-seo, Hong Rok-gi, Kim Shin-young, and others, and the deceased's ex-wife, singer Jin Mi-ryung, and Park Mi-seon, who had been reported to be fighting cancer, sent wreaths to mourn the deceased. In particular, Kim Shin-young, who was the deceased's beloved disciple, reportedly cared for Jeon Yu-seong and stayed with him at the end, even entrusting her radio 'Noon of Hope' schedule to a special DJ from the 23rd.
The late Jeon Yu-seong played a pioneering role in various fields for the development of Korean comedy. In the 1970s he gained fame as a writer by writing scripts for the popular TBC show 'Show Show Show', and he was also the person who first proposed the term 'gagman' instead of the word 'comedian', popularizing it. He later performed on the era's top comedy programs such as KBS's 'Humor No. 1' and 'Show! Video Jockey', bringing laughter to the public with his distinctive humor codes such as 'slow gag' and 'intellectual gag.'
He also helped bring gags performed in small theater venues in Daehangno to broadcast, contributing greatly to the birth of gag programs like 'Gag Concert' and 'People Looking for Laughter.' In addition, he served as honorary chairman of the Busan International Comedy Festival, Asia's first comedy festival, working to promote Korean comedy to the world, and in 2007 he established the country's first comedy-only theater, the 'Cheolgabang Theater,' in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, taking the lead in nurturing juniors.
In this way, as the 'godfather of the gag world,' he left a great mark on Korean comedy, and many juniors are expressing their stunned feelings while recalling memories with the deceased over this heartbreaking news.
After the funeral procession finished at 6 a.m. on the 28th, a mourning ceremony will continue from around 7:10 a.m. at KBS in Yeouido. This is to honor the achievements left by the late Jeon Yu-seong, and it was reported that Jo Jin-hyung, a KBS class of '34 recruited gagman, is overseeing it. The ceremony will be held in the KBS new building research wing meeting room where 'Gag Concert' holds meetings and in the studio where 'Gag Concert' is recorded, and junior gagmen will be on site to accompany the deceased on his final path.
KBS2's 'Gag Concert,' which airs the night of the funeral procession, will also hold a time to mourn the deceased. 'Gag Concert' plans to broadcast a short video and captions honoring the late Jeon Yu-seong. Afterward, the deceased will be laid to rest in Inwol-myeon, Namwon City, North Jeolla Province, where he had run a noodle shop during his life, and according to the deceased's wishes, the burial will later be converted to a tree burial.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]