November 26, 2025<\/p>\n
SEOUL<\/strong> \u2013 Actor Lee Soon-jae, a towering figure in Korean entertainment and one of the nation\u2019s longest-working performers, died Tuesday. He was 91.<\/p>\n According to his family, Lee died early on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n Even in advanced age, Lee had continued to work across television, film and theater, remaining active until late 2024, when health problems forced him to withdraw midway through the run of the play \u201cWaiting for Waiting for Godot.\u201d His final screen appearance came in the KBS series \u201cDog Knows Everything,\u201d which aired in September and October 2024. He accepted the broadcaster\u2019s top acting prize at its year-end awards show in January before stepping back to rest.<\/p>\n During a 69-year illustrious career, Lee created some of the most indelible characters in Korean popular culture: the stern yet comedic \u201cDaebal\u2019s Father,\u201d the mischievous \u201cYadong Soon-jae\u201d and the globe-trotting \u201cGrandpa Over Flowers\u201d persona that endeared him to younger generations. A consummate craftsperson, he often said that \u201ca lifetime of acting still isn\u2019t enough,\u201d approaching each role as if it might be his last. With his passing, his acting life has taken its final bow.<\/p>\n From Olivier-inspired student to nation\u2019s \u2018father\u2019 onscreen<\/strong><\/p>\n Born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, in what is now part of North Korea in 1934 (officially recorded as 1935), Lee moved to Seoul at age 4 with his grandparents. He lived through liberation as a schoolboy and the Korean War as a teenager, experiencing the full sweep of Korea\u2019s modern history.<\/p>\n At Seoul National University, where he majored in philosophy, Lee became enamored with cinema. Watching Laurence Olivier\u2019s \u201cHamlet\u201d set him on the path to acting. He joined Theatre Libre troupe in 1956 and debuted in a Korean production of Eugene O\u2019Neill\u2019s \u201cBeyond the Horizon.\u201d After graduating in 1960, he helped found Experimental Theater, Korea\u2019s first collective-artist troupe.<\/p>\n Lee entered broadcasting in 1961 with \u201cI, Too, Will Become Human,\u201d a drama series that marked the launch of KBS. In 1965, he became a first-generation contracted actor with the since-defunct network TBC, placing him at the heart of Korea\u2019s rapidly expanding television industry.<\/p>\n At times, Lee appeared in more than 30 productions a month. His major works number roughly 140, including \u201cDonguibogam,\u201d \u201cSee and See Again,\u201d \u201cThe Age of Three Kims,\u201d \u201cThe Men of the Bathhouse,\u201d \u201cThe Wild Days,\u201d \u201cLand\u201d and \u201cMom\u2019s Dead Upset\u201d \u2014 with innumerable smaller roles in addition.<\/p>\n In MBC\u2019s \u201cWhat on Earth Is Love\u201d (1991-92), he portrayed a patriarch whose mixture of warmth and comic obstinacy captivated the country, leaving him to be known as \u201cDaebal\u2019s Father.\u201d The show reached an astonishing 65 percent viewership.<\/p>\n The drama series\u2019 success briefly ushered Lee into politics: He won a National Assembly seat in 1992 as a candidate of the then-ruling Democratic Liberal Party, a precedent of today\u2019s People Power Party. Even while serving as a lawmaker, he continued acting on TV.<\/p>\n Lee was also central to the golden age of Korean historical dramas, anchoring hits like \u201cHur Jun\u201d (1999), \u201cThe Merchant\u201d (2001) and \u201cLee San, Wind of the Palace\u201d (2007) with a gravitas that made him a dramatic cornerstone.<\/p>\n From sitcom star to TV grandpa<\/strong><\/p>\n Restless and ever in pursuit of his next challenge, Lee continuously reinvented himself.<\/p>\n In his 70s, Lee shattered his solemn, sage-on-the-mountain image with wildly popular sitcom turns in \u201cHigh Kick!\u201d (2006) and \u201cHigh Kick Through the Roof\u201d (2009). His unabashed comedic timing won him a legion of younger fans and the irreverent nickname \u201cYadong Soon-jae,\u201d referring to a running gag of his character inadvertently encountering adult materials.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s leap into unscripted television came after meeting star producer Nah Yung-suk. On travel reality series \u201cGrandpas Over Flowers\u201d (2013), Lee displayed a vigor that belied his age, striding ahead with a brisk pace that earned him yet another moniker as \u201cStraight-Ahead Soon-jae.\u201d The show offered a rare glimpse of Lee as himself: his principles, his humor and his way of moving through the world.<\/p>\n During its third season, Lee said, \u201cIf you sit down and demand deference just because you\u2019re old, that\u2019s when you grow old and stagnant. As long as I can still do it, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n His candor resonated widely, especially with middle-aged viewers and younger people experiencing burnout. He studied relentlessly, worked without complaint and greeted each day with resolve, embodying the kind of elder many said society sorely needed.<\/p>\n Lee Soon-jae performs in \u201cWaiting for Waiting for Godot\u201d in 2024. PHOTO: PARK COMPANY\/THE KOREA HERALD<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Back on stage, Lee\u2019s final curtain<\/strong><\/p>\n In his last decade, Lee continued to embrace new challenges.<\/p>\n He returned frequently to the theater stage, delivering lauded performances in \u201cSalut d\u2019Amour\u201d (2016), \u201cThe Student and Mister Henri\u201d (2017), and Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cKing Lear\u201d (2021, 2023). In \u201cKing Lear,\u201d he commanded the stage for nearly 200 minutes, mastering its vast and demanding monologues. In 2023, he made his directorial debut with Chekhov\u2019s \u201cThe Seagull,\u201d bringing younger actors with him onto the stage.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s health faltered during performances of \u201cWaiting for Waiting for Godot,\u201d a Korean production of Dave Hanson\u2019s theatrical adaptation of Samuel Beckett\u2019s original in October 2024, and he withdrew on medical advice calling for several months of rest. That same fall, his appearance in KBS\u2019 \u201cDog Knows Everything\u201d earned him the distinction of becoming the oldest recipient of the network\u2019s top acting award.<\/p>\n \u201cOpportunities come if you keep preparing,\u201d he said tearfully as he accepted the honor. \u201cLiving this long, such a day eventually arrives. I want to say to the viewers watching that I have depended on you, learned from you and received so much from you all my life.\u201d<\/p>\n The veteran actor, a mentor to generations and a living archive of modern Korean performance often spoke of acting as \u201ca source of vitality.\u201d<\/p>\n At the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards in 2024, he remarked, \u201cEven if you\u2019re bedridden with aches and chills, when someone says \u2018Ready, go,\u2019 you must rise \u2014 that is an actor\u2019s life force. Acting can be done well, but it can never be perfected.\u201d<\/p>\n His conviction fueled decades of teaching; until recently, he served as a professor of acting at Gachon University.<\/p>\n Lee Soon-jae is survived by his wife and two children. KBS will set up a public memorial altar at its headquarters for mourners to pay their respects.<\/p>\n Lee Soon-jae receives the top prize at the 2024 KBS Drama Awards in January 2025. PHOTO: KBS\/THE KOREA HERALD<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source asianews.network \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" November 26, 2025 SEOUL \u2013 Actor Lee Soon-jae, a towering figure in Korean entertainment and one of the nation\u2019s longest-working performers, died Tuesday. He was 91. According to his family, Lee died early on Tuesday morning. Even in advanced age, Lee had continued to work across television, film and theater, remaining active until late 2024, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2177202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[21741,306168,341363],"class_list":["post-2177201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-south-korea","tag-the-korea-herald"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Obituary-K-entertainments-beloved-\u2018grandpa-Lee-Soon-jaes-life-on-stage-screen.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2177203,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177201\/revisions\/2177203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2177202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/asianews.network\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/news-p.v1.20251125.dde833e600764d5e9f3b0efa39ddc595_P1.jpeg\")
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