Profile Byun Hee Bong, Senior Collaborator Bong Joon Ho

Byun Hee Bong in the film Okja (screenshot)

JAKARTA - Sad news has returned from the South Korean entertainment industry. Actor Byun Hee Bong passed away on Monday, September 18. This news was confirmed by the family after battling pancreatic cancer.

Launching the Korea Times, Byun Hee Bong faced pancreatic cancer after being declared cured. The actor died at the age of 81.

As one of the senior actors, Byun Hee Bong starred in dozens of Korean film titles and dramas throughout her career. He is also known as one of the collaborators of director Bong Joon Ho through several of his films.

Born in 1942, Byun Hee Bong made her acting debut in 1970 after leaving university. She became one of the cast through the 1971 drama Chief Inspector. This drama received a high rating so it is reported that it will be made back this year.

For several years, Byun Hee Bong chose an unusual role through Korean dramas. This had made his financial condition decrease, and he even tried to get out of South Korea in the midst of the monetary crisis in the '90s.

Therefore, in the 1980s, he started actively playing big screen films by doing the films Eunuch (1986) and A Surrogate Father (1993).

His collaboration with Bong Joon Ho began when he appeared in Joon Ho's debut film, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000). His role portion is small, but he managed to become one of the iconic ones, namely a man in an apartment who likes dog meat.

The meeting led Byun Hee Bong to collaboration with other Joon Ho films, such as Sink & Rise (2004) and Memories of Murder (2003). In addition, he also played Lovely Rivals (2004) and Crying forced (2005) films.

When starring in the film The Host (2006), Byun Hee Bong received a positive response. The film became the most successful Korean film of all time, and he received a number of awards, one of which was the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

In the 2010s, Byun Hee Bong appeared again in several films. He also played a role in the film Okja (2017) directed by Bong Joon Ho where he became the grandfather who helped Mija. His last film was By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture in 2019.

Likewise with the Korean drama he last played in the same year, namely Trap.

He also starred in a number of Korean dramas. Among them 1% of Anything (2003), My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (2010), Pinocchio (2014), andctional Antoine (2016).

Throughout his career, he received 16 prestigious awards, some of which were Baeksang, Blue Dragon, and Director's Cut Awards.

In 2020, Byun Hee Bong received the Silver Crown of Cultural Merit from the government as a token of appreciation for her participation in developing South Korean pop culture.

Byun Hee Bong passed away at the age of 81.