Veteran actor Nam Podong (born Kim Gwang-il) has died.
On the morning of the 23rd, Nam Podong died after battling a chronic illness. He was 81.
Nam Podong debuted in 1965 with the film "I can fall in love too." After that, he was loved for his cheerful acting and image while active in comedy films such as "Whale Hunting," "Winter Traveler," "Two Cops 2," and "Two Cops 3."
But he was not an actor limited to a single genre. He also appeared in works such as the drama "Human Market," "Faraway Songba River" and "Life Is Beautiful."
He was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 2009. However, he did not let go of his acting career, and thanks to that he appeared in the 2022 film "Emotion alert."
Nam Podong's battle with illness became widely known when he appeared on MBN's "Exclusive World" in 2022. At the time he said, "I drink every day with my appearance fee, so how could my liver not come out of my stomach?" while explaining the course of his illness.
As a result, he had been taking liver cancer medication for 13 years. During the long battle with illness, Nam Podong said he had been moving between motels for more than 10 years and suffering financial hardship, which drew sympathy.
Then in January last year he was found semi-conscious in the parking lot of the Changnyeong National Sports Center in Bugok-myeon, Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, adding to the shock. Later Nam Podong recalled on a YouTube content as a guest, "If I had been found 10 minutes later, I would have died."
The wake was set up in funeral hall room 5 at Eulji University Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. The funeral procession will be at 12 p.m. on the 25th, and the burial site is Seoul National Cemetery.
[Photo] Source: MBN.
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