Remembering Actor Byun Hee-bong: A Year After His Passing

It has been a year since the late actor Byun Hee-bong passed away. The 18th marks the first anniversary of Byun Hee-bong’s death. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was declared cured after a battle with it, but the cancer relapsed and he continued to fight the disease until he passed away on September 18th of last year at the age of 81.

Byun Hee-bong was born in 1942 and debuted in 1965 as the second batch of MBC voice actors. He later branched out into acting and appeared in dramas such as Country Diaries, Second Republic, Third Republic, Splendid Dawn, Heo Jun, White Tower, The Sons of Sol Pharmacy, President, God of Study, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Princess Aurora, Goddess of Fire Jeongi, Blow Breeze, and Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho 2: Crime and Punishment. His films include Volcano High, Scent of Chrysanthemums, Mr. Kim Bong-doo, 2km from Sicily, Public Enemy 2, Crying Eyes, The Mayor and Jun-soo, The Game, Lifting King Kong, and Telekinesis.

In addition, Byun Hee-bong solidified his position as a ‘national actor’ by receiving attention as the persona of the master director Bong Joon-ho. He has maintained a special relationship with director Bong, appearing in his feature film debut Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), and Okja (2017).

In particular, Byun Hee-bong was awarded the Silver Crown Cultural Medal in 2020 in recognition of his contributions to various fields of popular culture.