Called the "national mother," actor the late Yeo Woon-gye, who gave many resonant performances, has been gone from our side for 17 years.
May 22, 2026, is the 17th anniversary of the death of the late Yeo Woon-gye. She died on May 22, 2009, while battling lung cancer. She was 69.
After being diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2007 and leaving the SBS historical drama "The King and I" midway, the late Yeo Woon-gye returned after surgery to KBS2 "The Prime of Daughter-in-Law," and even after being diagnosed with lung cancer she showed her passion for acting by appearing in the KBS2 morning drama "Janghwa, Hongryeon" without her family knowing.
The late Yeo Woon-gye, who debuted as a KBS talent in 1962, began acting as the madam of a rural teahouse in Korea's first TBS daily serial "Snow Is Falling" and went on to appear in dramas such as "Assi", "The Coachman", "The Horror of Fantasy", "Galaxy's Dream", "Diary of a High School Student", "Guesthouse", "Family", "Our Happy Home", "Toji", "The Tree Where Love Blooms", "What Is Love", "Moon of Seoul", "A Son's Woman", "LA Arirang", "The Trap of Youth", "The King and the Queen", "Dae Jang Geum", "My Name Is Kim Sam-soon", "Goodbye, Francesca", "War of Money", "The Prime of Daughter-in-Law" and "The King and I."
She also was active in films such as "A Mother's Diary", "The Strange Woman", "Paldo Daughter-in-Law", "Voice", "Flowerpot", "The Cruel Woman", "Late Autumn", "A Woman's Journey", "On a Starry Night", "From Seomgang to the Sky", "In a Dream", "Mapado", "Making Dreams Come True" and "Dangerous Adolescence."
For such achievements, the late Yeo Woon-gye received awards including the best supporting actress at the 3rd Dong-A Theatre Awards, the grand prize at the 1970 TBC acting awards, the special prize at the 1996 SBS acting awards and the lifetime achievement award at the 2000 KBS acting awards.
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