Veteran Korean actor Yoon Jeong-Hee passes away

Veteran Korean actor Yoon Jeong-Hee passed away on Thursday in Paris, after a long-standing battle with Alzheimer’s. The 78-year-old actor, who was famous in the 1960s and 70s was also diagnosed with diabetes. 

Yoon was considered one of the three most famous actors of her time; the other two were Moon Hee and Nam Jeong-im. In 1967, Yoon debuted in director Gang Dae-jin's Sorrowful Youth. After a successful debut, the actor started appearing in period pieces such as The Three-Day Reign (1973) and melodramas like Affair on the Beach (1970).

In 1972, she won the Best Actress Award at the Blue Dragon Film Awards for her performance in Oyster Village, which also won Best Picture. In 1973, she moved to France to pursue film studies. There she met pianist Paik and the two got married in 1976.

In 1994 she was seen in the Korean war epic Manmubang, for which she won Grand Bell Award for her role. After this film, Yoon disappeared from the public eye for a long time. In 2010, she returned back to the big screen in Cannes-winning Poetry, in which she played the role of an Alzheimer’s patient. 

Overall, she has starred in nearly 300 films and has earned 24 best actress awards at domestic and international ceremonies. Yoon is survived by her husband, daughter, and siblings.