It has been nine years since "national mother" actress Kim Young-ae, who did not put down her scripts even while battling pancreatic cancer, passed away.
April 9, 2026, is the ninth anniversary of the death of the late Kim Young-ae. She died on April 9, 2017, from complications related to pancreatic cancer. She was 66.
Kim Young-ae, who debuted as an MBC third class open recruitment talent in 1971, captivated viewers as part of the living-room troika with Han Hye-sook and Kim Ja-ok. What brought her to stardom was MBC's daily drama Minbi, which aired in 1973, two years after her debut, in which Kim Young-ae played the title role of Minbi.
Kim Young-ae continued her activities, making her presence felt in numerous dramas and films. She appeared in more than 100 dramas including the dramas "Your portrait", "Mother's room", "Life photo", "Ward 7", "Scent of love", "Sandglass", "Jang Hee-bin", "Hwang Jin-yi", "The woman of my man", "Royal family", "The moon embracing the sun", "Kill Me, Heal Me", and "The Gentlemen of Wolgye Boutique", and she starred in films that drew 10 million viewers such as "The Attorney" as well as "The sweetness of being heartbroken", "I Am a Murderer", "Aeja", "Cart", "Dizziness", "Huh Sam-gwan", and "Pandora".
For these achievements, Kim Young-ae won the 7th Baeksang Arts Awards theater division female newcomer acting award in 1971, the 10th Baeksang Arts Awards TV division female newcomer acting award in 1974, the KBS Drama Awards female top excellence acting award in 1987, the 33rd Baeksang Arts Awards TV division female top excellence acting award in 1997, the 46th Grand Bell Awards supporting actress award in 2009, the 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards supporting actress award in 2014, and the Medal of Cultural Merit at the 8th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards in 2017.
Kim Young-ae's fighting spirit in acting continued until her final moments. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2012 and undergoing surgery, she suffered a recurrence in 2016 but endured it without informing those around her. She even obtained permission to leave the hospital to continue filming and, driven to complete the 50-episode run, succeeded in finishing it but was unable to appear in the final episode due to worsening health.
Her passion extended into business as well. In the mid-2000s she seemed to establish herself as a successful entrepreneur by achieving sales in the 100 billion won range through loess-based cosmetics, but after a TV program claimed the loess packs contained harmful ingredients and controversy arose, her business declined; although the court later ruled there were no harmful ingredients to the human body, the business ultimately came to an end.
Her agency said, "I still vividly remember her words that she was happy to be able to act until the end and felt no fear of death. I was so happy to be able to be with her, and the regret of not having more time together remains as longing. We pray that she rests in peace in a place without pain."
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