"National actor" Ahn Sung-ki died on the 5th at age 74. Of the more than 180 works he appeared in, what are his signature films?
The Korean Film Archive held a special exhibition in 2017 marking the 60th anniversary of Ahn Sung-ki's debut, titled "Persona of Korean cinema, Ahn Sung-ki," and introduced 10 signature films that Ahn selected himself. We have organized them again.
1) A fine, windy day (Lee Jang-ho, 1980)
Ahn Sung-ki described A fine, windy day as "a film that, despite the strict censorship of movies in the wake of the Gwangju pro-democracy movement, captured the dark side of rapid growth and critically, reflectively examined reality."
A fine, windy day was also his first film in which, upon returning to the film industry after graduating from college, he shed the label of child actor and was recognized as an adult actor. Ahn also said, "Personally, it was the first film in which I was recognized as a movie actor after a long hiatus."
2) Mandala (Im Kwon-taek, 1981)
Ahn also picked Mandala, regarded as a masterpiece among Korean religious films, as one of his signature works. A Catholic, Ahn said that when filming Mandala he immersed himself in the role of a seeker monk by avidly reading not only specialized Buddhist books but also Buddhist scriptures. He said there were times when, with his shaved head and dressed in monk's robes, he was mistaken for a monk.
Ahn said, "When I meet overseas filmmakers, I still often count 'Mandala' on my fingers," adding, "It can be considered one of the films that represent Korean cinema."
3)–5) Whale hunting, Our joyful young days, Deep blue night (Bae Chang-ho, 1984–1987)
Among the "my 10 films" Ahn selected, three were by director Bae Chang-ho. Starting with Bae's directorial debut People of Kkobang Neighborhood and continuing through Blackmarlin, Ahn appeared in 13 films over 19 years.
The major box-office hit Whale hunting was the driving force. Ahn introduced Whale hunting by saying, "I hear it drew 400,000 viewers in Seoul alone when it opened, so for the time it was quite a hit," adding, "It was a movie anyone could enjoy, regardless of age or gender."
In Deep blue night, Ahn played a man living in the United States without legal status who would stop at nothing to obtain a green card, while in contrast, in Our joyful young days, he played a pure-hearted man who devoted everything to the woman he loved. Director Bae called Ahn "an achromatic actor on whom you can put any color."
6) Two cops (Kang Woo-suk, 1993)
Ahn introduced Two cops as "a 'buddy comedy' about two detectives who respectively represent the extremes of corruption and of integrity." Two cops drew about 630,000 viewers in Seoul and ranked No. 1 among Korean films at the box office that year.
Ahn also recalled, "Within that comedic tone, you can find a scathing indictment of society at the time," adding, "As befits a representative Korean comedy, the set was a lot of fun."
7) Nowhere to hide (Lee Myung-se, 1999)
Nowhere to hide was the first film in which Ahn appeared in a supporting role. He recalled that after hearing director Lee Myung-se's idea for a story about a dogged detective digging into a murder case mired in mystery, he had been looking forward to the script, but was disappointed to learn later that the role offered was the killer on the other side.
Up until right before the production presentation, Ahn had declined the project, but he ultimately decided to appear. He said Nowhere to hide "made me think about how important it is to maintain a strong dramatic presence regardless of the size of the role."
8) White badge (Jeong Ji-young, 1992)
Following his role as partisan Lee Tae in Jeong Ji-young's Nambu Army, Ahn played Han Gi-ju in White badge. He portrayed a novelist living in poverty while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Vietnam War.
Ahn said White badge was "a film that looks squarely at the horrors of war," adding that after reading the original novel, "I told director Jeong Ji-young, 'If you produce it, I'll appear anytime,' and recommended it."
Having served for more than 40 years as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Ahn said that after White badge he even wrote letters to sponsors asking them to help Vietnamese children suffering from malnutrition and disease.
9) Musa (Kim Sung-su, 2000)
Ahn won best supporting actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for Musa. It was his first supporting-actor award. Ahn said, "Jinlip, the character in the film Musa, is someone who embraces those around him and creates the drive for everyone to move forward together," adding, "I felt that was also my role as an actor." He added, "It's a film that made me think about many things, like not going ahead alone but embracing everyone from behind."
10) Radio star (Lee Joon-ik, 2006)
This was a project in which Ahn once again teamed up with junior actor Park Joong-hoon after Chil-su and Man-su, Two cops, and Nowhere to hide. Ahead of Ahn's 2017 special exhibition, director Lee Joon-ik said, "It's been 11 years since we filmed this scene with the greatest comic duo of our time, yet it's still vivid."
Ahn also said of Radio star, "At the end of the film, the once-famous singer Choi Gon and his manager Park Min-su, who always stayed by his side, end their brief separation and face each other again," adding, "The two need no words; that warmth makes it such a wonderful film."
Even after the 60th anniversary of his debut, Ahn appeared in The divine move 2: The wrathful, Paper flower, and In the name of the son, among others. Considering that Ahn often said, "My best work is my next role," his signature works may have continued to grow until the day he left.
Ahn's final works are Cassiopeia, Hansan: Rising dragon, Birth, and Noryang: Deadly Sea (special appearance). All four were filmed while he was battling cancer and were released in 2022–2023.