Film director Shin Seong-hoon was reported belatedly to have died in May. He was 40. Above all, his past family history was made public, and the fact that his funeral was carried out as that of an unclaimed person adds to the poignancy.
On the 26th, according to multiple media reports, he was found at his home by an acquaintance who had visited after being unable to reach him by phone. No separate note was found at the scene, and chronic illness was not officially disclosed, adding to the shock.
Earlier, the late Shin Seong-hoon said he spent his childhood in an orphanage. He confessed this on the Channel S variety show "Advance of the Grandmas." In particular, he was sent to the infant home without even clearly knowing why he had been abandoned by his family, and on one variety show he confessed that, as someone "from a childcare center," he grew up resiliently despite loneliness and prejudice.
The life puzzle he could never solve was connected to his adoptive mother's gambling addiction and debt in the hundreds of millions of won. He revealed, "Money earned from events was used to pay off debts. I paid back 160 million won," and eventually he applied for abandonment himself. He confessed, "I'm an adoptee. Not my birth mother," and did not hide the time he had endured alone.
Meanwhile, many expressed sorrow after it was revealed that Director Shin was handled as an 'unclaimed person' and his funeral was held without a will or family. On the 26th, OSEN reported that an entertainment industry source said about the deceased who died in May, "I heard the news at the end of May," and "the body was treated as unclaimed and a funeral was held."
An unclaimed funeral is a procedure in which the state or public institutions carry out the funeral when there is no family or next of kin. The source also told OSEN, "While alive, the deceased often posted photos on social media calling them 'mom' and 'family,' but they were not actual family, and he tended to call surrounding elders 'mom' and follow them," which evoked sadness.
The countless wounds and courage entwined in one person's life, ending quietly without anyone knowing, leave an even heavier aftertaste.
Internet users mourned the deceased, saying, "He who was abandoned without a family, in the end left without even a family's name… it breaks my heart.", "He was a filmmaker who had been attracting attention, but his end was unclaimed…", "The label of being from a childcare center, the life that had to pay off gambling debts… I hope he can rest in peace now."
Director Shin Seong-hoon debuted as a singer in 2002, and as a film director he was recognized for his potential when his 2022 film Jjajangmyeon, thank you won director and best picture awards at the 7th Hollywood Bluebird Film Festival.
[Photo] The late Shin Seong-hoon, broadcast screen
[OSEN]