The government will posthumously award the gold crown order of cultural merit (first class) to the late Ahn Sung-ki.
On the 5th, the government will posthumously award the gold crown order of cultural merit to the late actor Ahn Sung-ki, who passed away.
The order of cultural merit is conferred on those who have made clear contributions to the development of culture and the arts and to the public's enjoyment of culture. This gold crown order of cultural merit is the third order awarded, following the preservative order of cultural merit (third class) in 2005 and the silver crown order of cultural merit (second class) in 2013, in recognition of the late Ahn Sung-ki's contributions over about 60 years to the growth and development of Korean cinema.
The late actor Ahn Sung-ki made his debut in 1957 with the film 'Twilight Train' and appeared in some 130 works including 'A Windy Day', 'Whale Hunting', 'Our Happy Young Days', 'Two Cops', 'The Eternal Empire', 'No Mercy for the Rude', 'Silmido', 'A Moment to Remember', 'The Bow', and 'Hansan: Rising Dragon', showing performances spanning generations from child roles to adult actor and was regarded as a "national actor" who shared his life with Korean cinema.
In particular, he starred in 'Silmido', the first Korean film to reach 10 million viewers in 2003, and as a figure symbolizing the popular leap and industrial growth of Korean cinema in the 1990s and 2000s, he contributed to the social and cultural expansion of Korean film.
Also, over more than 30 years he established his stature as a representative actor of Korean cinema by winning numerous best actor and lifetime achievement awards at major domestic film award ceremonies such as the Daejong Film Awards, the Blue Dragon Film Awards, and the Baeksang Arts Awards.
Minister Chae Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to represent the government and posthumously award the gold crown order of cultural merit to the deceased that day.
According to The Korea Film Actors Association, Ahn Sung-ki died at about 9 a.m. that day while receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with his family watching.
After it became known in 2019 that he was battling blood cancer, he could not give up his passion for acting, but on the 30th of last month he choked on food while eating, collapsed, was taken to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, and ultimately did not recover.
The late's funeral will be held as a film industry funeral, and the wake has been set up at the funeral hall of St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul. The funeral procession will be held at 6 a.m. on the 9th.
[Photo] photo joint coverage team
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