South Korea’s most beloved actors, Lee Soon-jae, announced passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91.
Lee earned the affectionate nickname “national TV dad” for his numerous portrayals of wise, older men over a career spanning more than 70 years in film, television, and theater.
Among his most memorable roles were the strict father in the 1991 soap ‘What on Earth is Love’ and the goofy yet endearing grandfather in the hit sitcom ‘High Kick!’, which ran from 2006 to 2012.
His passing has prompted a wave of tributes, from young celebrities, including K-pop stars, who praised his warmth and kindness, to President Lee Jae Myung.
In a post shared by the president on Facebook, he wrote, “From theatre to film and television, he brought us laughter, emotion, comfort and courage.”
Lee continued acting until last year, when he received the grand prize at the KBS Drama Awards for his leading role in the comedy series Dog Knows Everything, becoming the oldest South Korean actor to ever receive the honor.
“You become old when you sit down and expect to be waited on,” he once told fellow senior actors on the travel show Grandpas Over Flowers.
Born in 1934 in Hoeryeong, a county now part of North Korea, Lee moved south to Seoul with his family at the age of four.
As a young boy, he worked in his grandparents’ shop in Seoul’s Namdaemun market during the period following Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule in 1945.
Lee studied philosophy at the prestigious Seoul National University but was drawn to theater, eventually branching out into television and film. He credited his inspiration to act to watching Sir Laurence Olivier in the title role of Hamlet.
Over his career, Lee appeared in around 140 TV shows and continued performing on stage until October 2024, when illness forced him to leave the play ‘Waiting for Godot’ midway through its run. He later made a public appearance at an awards ceremony in December.
Lee also briefly entered politics and was elected as a member of parliament for the conservative Democratic Liberal Party in 1992, but chose not to run again after completing his four-year term.
