Actor Jo Sang-gun from film 'Tazza' passes away

Jo Sang-gun/ Courtesy of Korean Film Council

By Kim Se-jeong

Actor Jo Sang-gun, best known for his role as a detective in the film "Tazza: The High Rollers" (2006), passed away in April, according to his family, Tuesday. He was 77.

Speaking with The Hankyoreh, a Korean-language daily, the deceased's nephew Choi Jae-hyung said his uncle passed away on April 21 and had a family funeral. “He was on treatment for his heart and kidneys but had no major problems. He was active and was considering a new film role but then he died suddenly.”

Born in 1946 in Jeongju, North Pyongan Province in North Korea, the late actor fled his home during the Korean War (1950-53) and grew up in Seoul. He studied at the Seoul Theater School, the predecessor of the Seoul Institute of the Arts, and began his acting career on stage in 1966. A founding member of the Mokwha Repertory Company, Jo played leading roles in more than 30 plays, including "Chunpung's Wife," "Tae," "Bicycle" and "Please Turn Off the Light.” In 1986, he won the Best Actor Award at the Korea Theater Festival.

Cho expanded his career into movies with "Iron Men" (1982). In 2001, he played a chief detective, Park Banjang, in "Moonlit Night in Shilla.” In “Then Those People” (2005), he played Shim Sang-hyo, a butler at the banquet hall of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency's safe house. In “Tazza: The High Rollers,” he played Racoon who is commissioned by Madam Jung ― played by Kim Hye-soo ― to investigate the death of Pyeong Kyung-jang ― played by Baek Yoon-sik.

In 1995, he received acclaim for his role as the main character, Kim Koo, in the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Liberation Day special drama, “When That Day Comes.”