South Korean ‘nation’s actor’ Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

The death of Ahn, who had been fighting blood cancer for years, was announced by his agency, the Artist Company, and the Seoul-based Soonchunhyang University Hospital.

Ahn had been in the hospital’s intensive care unit since he collapsed at his home after choking on food last Tuesday.

After being diagnosed with cancer in 2019, he underwent treatment and was told the disease was in remission in 2020. However, it reportedly returned.

Despite his health challenges, Ahn remained committed to the film industry. He made public appearances in 2023, attending the opening ceremony of the 27th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival to signal a strong will to return to the screen.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie The Twilight Train in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 films as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major.