Award-winning actor Kang Soo-youn passes away

Actor Kang Soo-youn / Korea Times file

Kang, 55, was first Asian actress to win at Venice film festival

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Kang Soo-youn, a pioneer and legend of the Korean new wave cinema who became the first Asian actor to win a Venice International Film Festival award, died on Saturday at the age of 55.

She died of a cerebral hemorrhage at around 3 p.m. at a hospital in southern Seoul, two days after suffering a cardiac arrest. She had been receiving medical treatment after falling unconscious at her home on Thursday.

Kang's memorial service has been set up at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. Her family will receive visitors from Sunday to Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The funeral ceremony will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and broadcast live through the Korean Film Council's YouTube channel, according to the funeral committee led by Kim Dong-ho, former chairperson of the board of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

"Kang broke boundaries with her fearless performances. Winning two major international awards, she was the first generation world-class actor. She also had strong leadership and charisma. Her legacy will live on in the movies she has made," Kim said.

Actor Kang Soo-youn in a scene from the film, "The Surrogate Womb" / Courtesy of Taehung Pictures

Born in Seoul in 1966, Kang made her acting debut at the age of three. She was a prolific actor who, in a career that spanned more than 50 years, starred in more than 40 films.

Kang gained international fame after winning the Best Actress Award at Venice International Film Festival for her role in "The Surrogate Womb" directed by Im Kwon-taek in 1987.

She became the first Korean actor to notch the honor from one of the big three globally prestigious film festivals ― Venice, Berlin, and Cannes.

Actor Kang Soo-youn in a scene from the film, "Come, Come, Come Upward" / Courtesy of Taehung Pictures

Kang also won the best actress award from the Moscow International Film Festival for her performance in director Im's 1989 film "Come, Come, Come Upward."

She has received numerous accolades locally and abroad with her roles across films and TV series, including the "That Which Falls Has Wings" (1990), "Blue In You" (1992) and "Go Alone Like Musso's Horn" (1995) and hit period series "Ladies of the Palace" (2001).

Many of her best-known films explored feminism and uncompromising images of women living under a patriarchal society.

Kang was at the forefront of protesting against the government's policy to reduce the screen quota system where the number of domestic films that are screened is protected by law.

She also served as a committee member of the BIFF from 2015 to 2017 when the film festival had been accused of political intervention after criticizing the then conservative government's handling of the Sewol Ferry disaster in 2014.

From left, director Im Kwon-taek, actor Kang Soo-youn and Kim Dong-ho, then president of the Korean Motion Picture Promotion Corporation (now Korean Film Council) celebrate Kang's Best Actress Award at Moscow International Film Festival in this July 1989 photo. Yonhap

Kang had been on hiatus after starring in a short film called "Jury" in 2013 and was set to return to the screen with director Yeon Sang-ho's upcoming sci-fi film playing the lead role. She last appeared in public at the opening ceremony of Gangneung International Film Festival in October, where she walked the red carpet in a black suit.

Fellow actors, directors and others in the film industry mourned the death of Kang.

"I'm so saddened to hear of the passing of Kang. I met her several months ago. The large portrait of Kang feels like a prop," director Bong Joon-ho said.

A memorial hall for the late actor Kang Soo-youn set up at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, Sunday, following her death from a cerebral hemorrhage. Courtesy of Kang Soo-youn's funeral committee

Her long-time collaborator, director Im, also attended the wake Saturday with his wife Chae Ryeong. "Im is shocked. He is speechless," Chae said.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee said the ministry is preparing to give a posthumous award to Kang.

"It's just shocking. She passed away so early. She could have played a bigger role in Korean film history. We are all very much grieving, but I hope her juniors follow her footsteps to create more meaningful work in the film industry," he said.

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