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| yna@yna.co.kr 2026-01-05 11:55:33
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- Ahn Sung-ki, who died Monday, was the nation’s beloved actor who made audiences laugh and cry for nearly 70 years with what was often described as his “thousand masks.”
From a young pickpocket to a corrupt police officer, a slum-dwelling everyman, a gangster boss and the manager of a washed-up singer, Ahn took on an extraordinary range of roles, firmly establishing himself as one of the most representative actors in Korean cinema.
Ahn first entered the film industry in 1957 after being cast as a child actor in director Kim Ki-young’s “Twilight Train.”
He appeared in some 70 films as a child actor through the 1960s, including “The Housemaid” (1960) and “The Mischievous Boy” (1965), before briefly stepping away from acting. After completing his military service, he returned as an adult actor in Kim Ki-young’s 1977 film “Soldiers and Young Ladies.”
At a time when there was widespread skepticism that child stars could successfully transition into adult actors, Ahn dispelled such doubts by appearing in a series of films regarded as groundbreaking in Korean cinema.
He left a strong impression on audiences with works such as “A Small Ball Launched by a Dwarf” (1981), “Mist Village” and “People of the Shantytown” (1982), “Whale Hunting” and “That Winter Was Warm” (1984), “Deep Blue Night” (1985), and “The Age of Success” and “Chilsu and Mansu” (1988).
His ability to embody a wide spectrum of characters and his outstanding acting skills were cited as reasons he was frequently chosen by leading directors of the era, including Im Kwon-taek, Bae Chang-ho, Lee Jang-ho and Lee Doo-yong.
In Lee Jang-ho’s “A Fine Windy Day” (1980), Ahn played an innocent young man who moves from the countryside to the city, earning the Grand Bell Award for Best New Actor. In his next film, Im Kwon-taek’s “Mandala” (1981), he portrayed a monk pursuing spiritual discipline, winning the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actor in film.
In Bae Chang-ho’s “The Road to the Racetrack” (1982), Ahn transformed into an industrial laborer and took home the Grand Bell Award for Best Actor. He later played a homeless man in Bae’s “Whale Hunting,” marking yet another dramatic shift in his acting.
Ahn was also adept at comedy, delivering big laughs in Lee Myung-se’s “Gagman” (1988) and “A Hot Roof” (1995), as well as Kang Woo-suk’s “Two Cops” (1993). “Two Cops,” in particular, was praised for the buddy chemistry between Ahn and Park Joong-hoon, with the two actors sharing the Grand Bell Award for Best Actor.
During this period, Ahn also frequently appeared in art-house films that cast a sharp eye on Korean society and history.
In Jung Ji-young’s “North Korean Partisans in South Korea” (1990), he played a man active as a guerrilla during the Korean War, while in “The White Badge” (1992), he portrayed a novelist tormented by memories of the Vietnam War.
In 1999, Ahn appeared as a murderer in one of his signature works, Lee Myung-se’s “Nowhere to Hide.” The rain-soaked action scene opposite Park Joong-hoon, who played a detective, remains one of the most iconic sequences in Korean film history.
As the industry entered the 2000s, many actors who had dominated the 1990s struggled to adapt to changing production environments, but Ahn proved an exception.
At age 51, well past the typical peak for most actors, he played a principled soldier in Kang Woo-suk’s “Silmido” (2003), becoming a “10-million-viewer actor.” The film was the first Korean movie to surpass 10 million admissions, and Ahn’s line, “Shoot me and go,” became a widely quoted catchphrase.
In 2006, he reunited with Park Joong-hoon in “Radio Star,” moving audiences with his portrayal of a loyal manager who quietly stands by a once-famous singer fallen from stardom. For the role, Ahn and Park shared the Best Actor award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, while Ahn also won the same honor solo at the Grand Bell Awards.
In Jung Ji-young’s “Unbowed” (2011), Ahn once again demonstrated his undiminished acting prowess as a professor who engages in a fierce legal battle against unfair dismissal and judicial injustice, delivering another memorable line: “This isn’t a trial, it’s a farce.”
He went on to portray a wide array of characters in later years, including a man with a terminally ill wife in Im Kwon-taek’s “Revivre” (2014), a hunter in “The Tiger” (2015), an exorcist priest in “The Divine Fury” (2018), and a general in “Hansan: Rising Dragon” (2022).
His final film appearance was in director Kim Han-min’s “Noryang: Deadly Sea” (2023). He was known to have maintained a strong passion for acting even while battling blood cancer.
Film critic Jeon Chan-il said, “There is virtually no other actor besides Ahn Sung-ki who appeared so consistently in the works of masters who defined Korean film history,” adding, “He was a truly incomparable figure.”
“He was also a person of exemplary attitude and humility,” Jeon said. “He was great not only as an actor but as a human being.”
Although Ahn never appeared in television dramas after his debut, he built a warm and approachable image by connecting with audiences through film over several decades. Known for his gentle, family-oriented demeanor, he was considered one of the rare actors virtually free of anti-fans.
That image led him to serve as the face of Maxim coffee for 38 years, earning him the Korea Advertisers Association’s “Good Model Award Chosen by Advertisers” in both 1995 and 2018.
In 2013, he received the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit, the highest honor in the field of popular culture and arts, and in 2024, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Arts of the Republic of Korea.
Ahn was also a steadfast “big brother” figure who led younger filmmakers during times of crisis in the Korean film industry.
He headed the Screen Quota Guardians from 2000 and served as co-chair of the Emergency Committee to Protect the Screen Quota in 2006. He also contributed to the industry as vice executive director of the Busan International Film Festival, executive chair of the Asiana International Short Film Festival, organizing committee member of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, and chairman of the Shin Young-kyun Arts and Culture Foundation.
Film critic Yoon Sung-eun said, “Ahn Sung-ki was a star who received immense public love by embodying the society and culture of each era through performances that cut across modern Korean history,” adding, “He was the persona of every director he worked with.”
“For decades, he occupied an unrivaled position as an ideal star who combined outstanding acting with intellect and character,” Yoon said.
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