Lee Soon-jae, one of South Korea’s most beloved actors, died Tuesday at the age of 91, his agency announced.
During a career spanning more than 70 years in film, television and stage, Lee was affectionately known as the “Father of National Television” for his many roles as a wise, older man.
This included two of his best-known performances – as a strict father in the 1991 soap opera What on Earth is Love, and as a dim-witted but lovable grandfather in the popular sitcom High Kick! broadcast from 2006 to 2012.
News of his death sparked a wave of tributes from young celebrities, including K-pop singers, speaking of his warmth and kindness towards President Lee Jae Myung.
“From theater to cinema and television, he brought us laughter, emotion, comfort and courage,” the president wrote on Facebook.
Lee acted until last year, when he won the grand prize at the KBS Drama Awards for his leading role in the comedy series Dog Knows Everything. He is the oldest South Korean actor to win this honor.
“You get old when you sit around and expect to be served,” he told his fellow lead actors on the travel show Grandpas over Flowers.
The 2013 show, which revolved around senior stars taking harrowing trips abroad, became a cultural phenomenon.
Born in 1934 in Hoeryeong, a county in what is now North Korea, Lee was just four years old when his family moved south to Seoul.
He worked in his grandparents’ shop in the capital’s Namdaemun Market when Korea was liberated from Japanese rule in 1945.
Lee studied philosophy at the prestigious Seoul National University, but ventured into theater and, ultimately, television and film. He said he was inspired to act after seeing Sir Laurence Olivier play the title role in Hamlet.
Lee appeared in some 140 television shows during his career and continued to perform on stage until October 2024, when he withdrew in the middle of the play Waiting for Godot due to illness. He reappeared in public at the awards ceremony in December.
He also made a brief foray into politics. In 1992 he was elected as a member of parliament for the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, but at the end of his four-year term he did not run again.
Lee’s prolific career means he has remained a household name for decades, equally familiar to younger audiences and at a time when Korean entertainment is one of the country’s biggest exports.
His fame even spread to the Internet where scenes of him in High Kick! have resurfaced as memes on TikTok in recent years.
Actor Yoo Yeon-seok, who studied with Lee, said he “was an example of an actor” and High Kick! by Lee Soon-jae! co-star Jeong Bo-seok described Lee not only as a mentor in the industry, but as a “real mentor in my life”.
He wrote on Instagram: “Master, thank you very much for everything. I have learned and felt so much from you – not only about acting, but also about the life and attitude of an actor.”
Additional reporting by Rachel Lee
