'Known as "Korea's Charlie Chaplin" and who brought laughter to the public, comedian the late Bae Sam-ryong passed away 16 years ago.
Today (23rd) is the 16th anniversary of the death of first-generation South Korean comedian Bae Sam-ryong. Bae Sam-ryong died of aspiration pneumonia on Feb. 23, 2010. He was 84.
The late comedian, who had been receiving treatment for pneumonia and asthma, collapsed at an event in June 2007, was hospitalized and continued a three-year battle with illness before finally passing away.
The late Bae Sam-ryong cemented his status as the era's top comedian in the 1960s and 1970s through "When you laugh, fortune comes." He especially won great public affection by first introducing the "dog-leg dance," considered the origin of Korean slapstick comedy.
However, in 1980 he was banned from appearing on broadcast by the new military government and endured a long hiatus. He later returned in the 1990s through Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) shows "Humor No. 1," "Comedy Highway," and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) "New When you laugh, fortune comes," continuing to work amid the respect of younger comedians.
But in his later years he faced difficulties as pneumonia and financial hardship overlapped, and when it became known in 2007 that he had unpaid hospital bills amounting to about 200 million won, juniors launched a fundraising campaign.
The late man's life and final days were reexamined last year on MBN's "Exclusive World." His son Bae Dong-jin, who appeared on the program at the time, said, "My father made a lot of money but left nothing behind," and confessed, "All the assets were exhausted through his second and third marriages." He added, "In his later years, asset management moved outside the family, and when it came time for treatment and the funeral there was no preparation left," adding to the sorrow.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]