"I owe you my life." Actor the late Lee Soon-jae entered eternal rest amid farewells from junior actors who respected him.
Early on the 27th, Lee Soon-jae's funeral procession was held at the funeral hall of Asan Medical Center in Pungnap-dong, Songpa District, Seoul. The burial site is Eden Paradise in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.
The ceremony was chaired by actor Jeong Bo-seok, and actors Kim Young-chul and Ha Ji-won delivered eulogies, adding significance. In particular, Jeong Bo-seok appeared as Lee Soon-jae's on-screen son-in-law in the sitcom widely regarded as a legend, High Kick Without Hesitation, and Ha Ji-won had looked after Lee Soon-jae's theater stages and even proclaimed herself president of his fan club. The tributes from junior actors who had accompanied the late actor's footsteps added meaning.
Lee Soon-jae died early on the 25th at the age of 91. Until he stopped activities last October due to deteriorating health, he had been meeting audiences in Daehakro with the play Waiting for Godot Revisited. The sudden health decline of the veteran actor drew deep sorrow from many.
As if to dispel such concerns, Lee Soon-jae attended this year's KBS Drama Awards and accepted the grand prize for the KBS 2TV drama 'Gaesori' that aired last year. Supported by last year's winner, junior actor Choi Soo-jong, he drew attention with a somewhat gaunt appearance.
Even so, Lee Soon-jae's voice carried dignity. Above all, he choked up while saying, "Having lived a long life, there are days like this. I was always preparing, thinking 'an opportunity will come someday.' Today I received this beautiful, precious award," and added with rueful rebuke, "An American grandmother rode once in her 30s and three times after her 60s. In our country that would all be lifetime achievement awards. If you do well after 60, you get an award. It's not a lifetime achievement award. Acting should be judged as acting. You can't judge it by popularity or other conditions. That's the American Academy," earning applause.
Toward the end of his remarks he said, "To the viewers who encouraged me, I really owe you my life and received a lot of help; thank you," leaving a touching farewell. This ceremony became Lee Soon-jae's last official appearance in life and is being remembered as the final goodbye he left for the public.
As an actor who burned with passion for his craft until the end, a separate memorial space was set up in addition to the wake kept by the bereaved family. A space where ordinary citizens can pay their respects and mourn was installed at the KBS annex in Yeouido, Seoul. Because it shows footage from when Lee Soon-jae received the grand prize, the space carries even more significance.
While studying philosophy at Seoul National University, the late actor debuted in 1956 with the play Beyond the Horizon and left countless works while maintaining his passion for acting into his nineties, becoming the oldest recipient of the grand prize. In particular, he showed a presence equal to lead roles with his bold acting in historical dramas such as Heo Jun, Sangdo, Isan, and The Princess' Man. In addition to daily soap operas like What Is Love, Men of the Bathhouse and Mom Is Angry, he also anchored well-made mini-series hits such as Beethoven Virus and Dorama 돈꽃.
On last year's tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block, he expressed a strong attachment to the theater, saying, "Dying on stage while performing is the happiest thing," and he kept performing without rest up to Waiting for Godot Revisited, from which he stepped down due to deteriorating health. He also left works such as Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Beckett, Death of a Salesman, Don Quixote, Henri's Final Days and Me, and King Lear.
He appeared in the High Kick series, which is remembered as a legend from sitcoms ranging from High Kick Through the Roof to High Kick Without Hesitation, and after moving to tvN with producer Na Young-seok's team, he showed wide-ranging activity in entertainment by appearing in the Grandpas Over Flowers series alongside close colleagues Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung, Baek Il-seob and Kim Yong-gun.
In 1991 he entered politics and the following year was elected as the candidate of the then-ruling Democratic Liberal Party in the Jungnang A constituency of Seoul in the 14th general election, serving as a member of the National Assembly. In recognition of the late man's contributions across fields, the family received the Order of Cultural Merit, Geumgwan class, on his behalf.
[Photo] Joint photo news agency, OSEN DB.
[OSEN]