'national actor' Ahn Sung-ki has passed away, and the bereavement hall for the deceased being set up at the hospital he donated to during his lifetime adds to the poignancy.
Artist Company, Ahn Sung-ki's agency, announced on Jan. 5 that Ahn Sung-ki passed away at 9 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2026, at the age of 74.
According to the agency, Ahn Sung-ki's bereavement hall was set up in funeral parlor room 31 at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. The funeral service will be at 6 a.m. on the 9th, and the burial site is Yangpyeong Byeolgeuridada.
Seoul St. Mary's Hospital is the place where the deceased received treatment while battling blood cancer during his lifetime and the hospital to which he made his final donation. Ahn Sung-ki donated 100 million won to this hospital in 2021, when his condition briefly improved after chemotherapy. At the time he said, "I think offering even a small hope to those who cannot receive treatment because of financial difficulties is my way of repaying the love I have received," expressing the reason for his donation.
Ahn Sung-ki was a Roman Catholic with the baptismal name John the Apostle. Both of his children were born at Gangnam St. Mary's Hospital, the predecessor of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, deepening his ties with the hospital. During Pope Francis's visit to Korea in 2014, he also read at a Mass presided over by the pope.
While battling illness in 2022, he appeared in the film "Birth," which deals with the life of Korea's first priest Saint Kim Dae-gun. At the time he said, "Although it was not a large role, as a Roman Catholic I felt a sense of duty and responsibility," and he maintained his commitment as an actor until the end.
Meanwhile, Ahn Sung-ki collapsed at his home on the 30th of last month after food became stuck in his throat while eating and was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest. He received treatment in the intensive care unit thereafter but ultimately did not recover and died as his family watched.
Actor Ahn Sung-ki debuted at age 5 in director Kim Ki-young's 1957 film "Twilight Train" and stood out from his child actor days through films such as "Teenage Rebellion" and "The Housemaid." After a hiatus following adulthood, he made a comeback with "The Night of Evil" and "The Third Public Enemy," and in the 1980s and 1990s he cemented his status as a national actor with films such as "A Windy Good Day," "Whale Hunting," "The Southern Army," "White War," and the "Two Cops" series.
He later appeared in major works such as "Silmido," "Radio Star," "Broken Arrow," and "Hansan: Rising Dragon," and he achieved the triple crown by winning the Blue Dragon Film Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, and Grand Bell Awards for best actor, making him the only actor to have won leading actor awards from the 1980s through the 2010s.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]