Kang Soo-youn (Cine21)
Korean movie stars, directors and fans are praying for Kang Soo-youn’s recovery after the veteran actor was taken to a hospital with cardiac arrest on Thursday.
According to a Gangnam Severance Hospital official, the actor remains unconscious while detailed information is yet to be announced.
Director Yeon Sang-ho, who is scheduled to make his Netflix return with Kang in an upcoming sci-fi film “Jung_E,” was shocked to hear about the actor.
“I was really surprised when I heard the news about Kang yesterday. She was bright and energetic when we were shooting the film,” Yeon told The Korea Herald on Friday.
“I recently had a talk with Kang over the phone. She told me that she had visited a hospital, but I never imagined that her condition was serious. All I can do at this moment is to send my prayer for a recovery as soon as possible and support her,” Yeon added.
Veteran actor Han Ji-il, 74, who co-starred in the Buddhist film “Come, Come, Come Upward” with Kang in 1989, also wished her a quick recovery in an online post.
“Please pray for global star Kang Soo-youn’s return to her fans as soon as possible” Han wrote on Facebook on Friday.
Korean film and drama fans are sending their prayers via comments on news articles, YouTube videos and posts on various social media platforms.
Making her debut at the age of 4, Kang caught the public’s attention as a child actor with her role in KBS’ coming-of-age drama “High School Student Diary” (1983-1985).
Her performance in “The Surrogate Woman” (1986), helmed by renowned Korean director Im Kwon-taek, led Kang to win the best actress award at the 1987 Venice International Film Festival, becoming the first Korean actor to receive an award at a major international film festival.
The 55-year-old actor won another best actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 1989 for her leading role in “Come, Come, Come Upward.”
Cementing her spot as one of the top actors in South Korea, Kang took a break from acting after appearing in “Hanji” (2011) and “Jury” (2013). The actor served as a co-executive director at the Busan International Film Festival from 2015 to 2017.
Kang is set to make her film comeback for the first time in nine years with the Netflix sci-fi film “Jung_E,” scheduled to be released in the second half of the year.
By Lee Si-jin (
sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)