Seoul and Busan subway announcements, familiar voice actor Kang Hee-seon, known as the voice of Bong Mi-seon (Shin-chan's mom) in the animated series "Crayon Shin-chan," died of a chronic illness at 2:10 a.m. on the 4th. She was 65.
According to the bereaved family on the 4th, Kang died of a chronic illness at around 2:10 a.m. that day at Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital.
Kang began her career as a voice actor in 1979 as a member of the 10th class of the TBC Voice Acting Troupe. The following year, after broadcast consolidation, she became part of the 15th class of KBS voice actors and later served as head of the KBS Voice Acting Troupe from 2013 to 2016 and as senior vice director of the Korea Voice Performance Association.
Starting with "Anne of Green Gables," Kang took part in dubbing numerous animated works, including "The Rose of Versailles," "Ghost in the Shell," and "Captain Planet."
Afterward, beginning with the first broadcast of the TV version of the animated series "Crayon Shin-chan" on SBS in 1999, she voiced Bong Mi-seon (Shin-chan's mom) and Maeng-gu. She became widely known to younger generations by dubbing iconic lines from the series, such as "Shin-chan, you know our Shin-chan is a very cool son, right?" and "Mom will never hate you."
In the 1980s and 1990s, when programs like "Weekend Theater" and "Saturday Theater" were popular, she established herself as a leading voice actor in Korea by dubbing the voices of Sharon Stone, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman.
In particular, from 1996 she handled the dubbing for announcements on Seoul Subway Lines 1–8 and Busan Subway Lines 1–4, becoming remembered by citizens for her familiar voice. She also took part in recording advertisements for the Daegu subway.
Through her work, Kang received the top foreign film acting award at the KBS Voice Acting Awards in 2002, the top acting award at the KBS Voice Acting Awards in 2005, and the prime minister's commendation at the Popular Culture and Arts Awards in 2018.
In 2021, she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer with liver metastasis and was given two years to live. Kang appeared on the TV program "You Quiz on the Block" and confessed this fact.
Even after undergoing 47 rounds of chemotherapy, Kang said she recorded the "Crayon Shin-chan" theatrical version for more than 14 hours, expressing her will to recover by saying she "really loves voice acting."
The mourning hall has been set up in Room 31 of the funeral hall at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. The funeral will be at 7:40 a.m. on the 6th, and the burial site is Yongin Park Honestone.