Top stars of ‘Beautiful Villain’ and ‘Daughters of Kim Yak-guk’… Choi Ji-hee passed away

Choi Ji-hee (崔智姬, real name Kim Kyung-ja), who gained popularity as a top star by playing Eun-mi in the 1950-1960s movie ‘Beautiful Evil Woman’ and Yong-ran in ‘Kim Yak-guk’s Daughters’, died on the 17th at 12:00 noon at Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital. 81 years old. My daughter Yoon Hyun-soo said, “He suffered from lupus and died of pneumonia.”

Born to Korean parents in Osaka, Japan, the deceased grew up in Hadong, Gyeongnam, after returning to Korea in 1946. After graduating from Gyeongnam Girls’ Middle School, she started working as an actress to make a living. He recalled that he named his stage name Choi Ji-hee after the surname of Nam-yong Choi, a film producer who was taken care of at the time. Following Choi Nam-yong’s 1956 film ‘Ingirl Hong Gil-dong’, Lee Kang-cheon’s 1958 ‘Beautiful Evil Woman’ appeared as Eun-mi, a pickpocket girl who casually considers prostitution and became a topic of discussion.

After becoming a star with this work, she called her mother and younger brother from her hometown to Seoul and entered the path of leading a girl. After appearing in ‘Obuja’ (1958), ‘Amo’ (1959), and ‘Sisters’ Garden’ (1959, directed by Shin Sang-ok), Park Dong-sun, who was widely known for the ‘Korea Gate’ incident in 1961, introduced him to the United States. . After returning to Korea in 1962, she appeared as Yong-ran in the movie ‘Daughters of Kim Yak-guk’ (1963, directed by Yoo Hyeon-mok) and won Best Supporting Actress at the 1st Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 3rd Daejong Film Awards. It is known that the original author, novelist Park Kyung-ri (1926-2008), deliberately visited Choi Ji-hee’s house and explained the importance of the role.

They married in 1966 and had a daughter, Yoon, and divorced in 1969. After making a comeback in 1970, he appeared in action movies such as ‘Yongpal from Namdaemun’ and ‘Paldo Kashinai’. In the mid-1970s, he left the film industry to do business in Japan and the United States, and in 1988 planned and produced the ‘Seoul Pre-Olympic Show’. I have also worked as a fashion designer. The second half of his life was not easy due to successive business failures. For several years, she suffered from Alzheimer’s and has been fighting the disease at a nursing hospital and her daughter Yoon’s house. The films ‘Oppa is Back’ (2010, directed by Noh Jin-soo) and ‘Norano’ (2013, directed by Kim Seong-hee) were the last films to appear in, and he also served as the president of the Korean Film Council. In 2011, she received the Achievement Award for Female Filmmaker of the Year.

The mortuary was prepared in the general room of the funeral hall of Euljiro Paik Hospital, and the funeral was held at 9 am on the 19th. Lee Hae-ryong, chairman of the Korean Film Council, and Moon Cheol-jae, general secretary, will oversee the funeral process. Jangji is Sky Castle in Bundang. ☎ 02-2270-0479

[사진 출처 : 연합뉴스]