Actor the late Song Jae-ho left our side five years ago.
The late Song Jae-ho died on Nov. 7, 2020, after his condition worsened while battling a chronic illness he had suffered for a year. He was 83.
Born in 1937 in Pyongyang, South Pyongan, Song Jae-ho graduated from Dong-A University with a degree in Korean language and literature and took his first step into the entertainment industry in 1959 as a broadcaster at KBS Busan Broadcasting Station. He later switched to KBS as a specially recruited actor in 1968 and walked the path of an actor who traversed both the screen and television.
In masterpieces that will be remembered in Korean film history such as Young-ja's heyday (1975), People of Kkobang Neighborhood (1982), and That winter was warm (1984), Song Jae-ho delivered impressive performances. His acting, from the image of youth suffering the pains of the era to the silent father who keeps the family, and at times the head of a household overcoming life's hardships, represented the universal sentiments of Koreans and earned deep empathy.
Since the 2000s, Song Jae-ho once again captured the public's heart with mature performances such as the veteran chief in Memories of Murder (2003) and General Bong, who showed pure elderly love in I Love You (2011). Cementing his image as a kind and generous "national father," his acting career was further honored with the KBS Drama Awards special achievement award in 2020 and the Bogwan Cultural Medal in 2021.
Particularly, Song Jae-ho's life served as an example beyond acting. With an unusual background as a shooting athlete and a certified International Shooting Sport Federation judge, he also took part in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and he did not neglect social service, serving as an ambassador for Holt Children's Services and as director general of an anti-poaching monitoring unit.
He also endured painful personal tragedies. In 2000, his youngest son died first in a traffic accident. Song Jae-ho suffered short-term memory loss from the shock of that time.
Actor Song Jae-ho, who steadfastly walked the single path of acting. His performances went beyond mere character portrayal; they were portraits of the fathers of our time and the life of an ordinary yet great human being itself.
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