South Korean movie star Ahn Sung-ki, dubbed 'The Nation's Actor,' dies
at 74
[January 05, 2026]
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s
biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public
image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was
74.
Ahn, who had blood cancer for years, died at Seoul's Soonchunhyang
University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital
officials said.
“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest
of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved
family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.
President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message, saying Ahn provided
many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss
his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.
From a child actor to a successful adult actor
Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made
his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He
subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left
the film industry to live an ordinary life.
In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a
Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to
land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major as
largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.
Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel
in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s
“Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of
working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise and
transition. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand
Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.
He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically
acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the
country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980s-90s.
Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,”
a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War
veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police
officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a
special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity
manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”
[to top of second column]
|
South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th
Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13,
2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
 Ahn had collected dozens of trophies
in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand
Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South
Korean actor has matched.
‘The Nation’s Actor’
Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented
celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable
personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most
beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”
Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor”
labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. “I
felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think
that has eventually guided me in a good direction,” Ahn said in an
interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.
In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie
was, but said that his role in “Radio Star” as a dedicated,
hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon
resembled himself in real life the most.
Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said
said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked
directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice
to movies.
“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love
with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and
can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the
Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I
couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right
choice for me.”
Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station
at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
