SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) - "I'm forever indebted to you," 90-year-old actor Lee Soon-jae told television viewers on Dec. 31 last year after becoming the oldest recipient of the KBS top acting award in 2024.
Since his debut in 1957, he appeared in more than 100 TV dramas, embracing any role — comedy, historical epic, classical theater — so long as he could act.
Lee, who passed away on Nov. 25 at age 91, was a “born actor” who never feared challenge and moved effortlessly across genres. From traditional historical dramas to sitcoms, films, and stage productions, he remained a model of passion for younger performers until his final days.
Born in 1934 in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, and raised in Seoul from age four, Lee discovered acting early. At Daejeon High School he staged plays with friends, and at Seoul National University he helped revive the theater club in 1956 alongside Shin Young-kyun, Lee Nak-hoon, and Hwang Eun-jin.
That same year he made his stage debut in "Beyond the Horizon". The following year he appeared on Korea’s first television broadcaster, DBK, in the drama Beyond Horizon, introducing his face to the small screen.
In his early career, as an exclusive actor for TBC, Lee performed in more than 100 dramas. Through the 1980s he remained prolific across television and film, though largely in supporting roles.
His breakthrough came at age 57. In 1991 he portrayed Lee Byung-ho, a patriarchal print-shop owner, in the MBC drama "What Is Love." The show averaged a record 59.6 percent viewership, and the nation embraced “Daebal’s father.” Riding the drama’s popularity, Lee successfully ran for the National Assembly in 1992.
Even during his political years, he continued acting in "Ambition", "Farewell", "Bathhouse Men", and other series. After leaving politics in 1996, he returned fully to the screen. In 1999 he played Yoo Ui-tae, the strict yet warm-hearted physician and mentor to Heo Jun, in the MBC historical drama "Heo Jun", marking a dramatic image shift and winning renewed acclaim.
He went on to appear in a wide range of works — from historical blockbusters like Sangdo, Jang Hee-bin, Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and Lee San to contemporary dramas such as The Heungbo Family.
Lee’s second golden era arrived with the 2006 MBC sitcom "High Kick!." Shedding his stern image, he played a cranky but harmless traditional-medicine doctor. A notorious scene where he is caught watching adult videos earned him the nickname “Yadong Soon-jae,” endearing him to the young generation.
At 72, he won the MBC Entertainment Grand Prize for the role. Despite the grueling five-day-a-week shoot, he once said he worked harder after hearing that hospitalized patients found rare moments of laughter watching the show.
In 2008 he moved audiences again as an oboe player battling dementia in "Beethoven Virus." In the 2011 film I Love You, he portrayed a prickly but tender elderly man whose love story left theaters in tears.
He continued to show comedic chemistry in "High Kick Through the Roof (2008)", including a late-life romance with the late Kim Ja-ok and playful quarrels with on-screen son-in-law Jung Bo-suk.
In 2013, Lee joined the cast of tvN’s travel variety show "Grandpas Over Flowers" alongside Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung, and Baek Il-sub. His tireless energy — studying instead of sleeping on flights, shooting without complaint — earned him praise from young viewers as a “true adult.” He led the ensemble through the 2014, 2015 and 2018 seasons.
In his later years, he returned frequently to his first love: the stage. Even in his eighties, he endured the physical and mental demands of live theater. In 2021, at age 87, he delivered a celebrated performance in "King Lear", performing barefoot with flowing white hair and reciting nearly 200 minutes of lines without falter, drawing critical acclaim.
Last year, he appeared in "Waiting for Godot… Waiting," though health issues forced him to cancel some shows. He vowed to return “in healthy form,” but doctors recommended three months of rest, prompting concerns among the public.
His lifetime of relentless work was rewarded late. In 2024, he won the KBS Drama Award for his role as a veteran actor who can hear a dog’s voice in Dog Sound, becoming the oldest-ever winner of the network’s top prize.
“I always believed a chance would come someday, so I kept preparing,” he said tearfully in his acceptance speech. “Today I received this beautiful, precious award.”
In 2025, he was named a Korea PD Award winner in the actor category, though worsening health prevented his attendance.
Lee Soon-jae leaves behind a legacy unmatched in Korean performing arts — a career that spanned nearly seven decades, countless genres, and generations of audiences who grew up with his voice, his authority, his mischief, and above all, his devotion to the craft of acting.
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