Yeo Woon-kay (Korean: 여운계; February 25, 1940 – May 22, 2009) was a South Korean actress and television personality. She was best known for Korean films such as War of Money, Bad Family and My Lovely Sam Soon.[1]
Yeo Woon-kay | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 25, 1940 |
| Died | May 22, 2009 (aged 69) |
| Education | Korea University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1958–2009 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 여운계 |
| Hanja | 呂運計 |
| Revised Romanization | Yeo Ungye |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yŏ Un'gye |
Yeo began acting while in high school. She continued to act while attending Korea University, where she studied literature.[2] She became known for her work in Daehakgeuk, which is also called the amateur student theater, during the 1950s and 1960s, alongside other contemporary Korean actors like Lee Soon-jae.[2][3]
She made her professional theater debut with a theater troupe in 1962.[2] From theater, she was able to transition to a successful television career.[2] She often played the role of a grandmother or "grandmotherly figure".[2] Examples of these characters included her roles in Toji in 1986 and Jewel in the Palace in 2003.[2]
Ms. Yeo was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2007 while shooting the SBS TV series The King and I.[2] But she continued to act and began work on the KBS2 production of Love and Obsession,[2] eventually quitting the production due to pneumonia, indicating the spread of cancer to her lungs.[2]
Yeo entered the hospital intensive care unit in May 2009.[2] Reports say that she fell into a coma and was placed on life support.[2] She died around 8 P.M. on May 22, 2009, at the Incheon Catholic Medical Center in Incheon, South Korea, at the age of 69. Her funeral was held at the Severance Hospital.[2][4]
Yeo was awarded the Life Achievement Award posthumously at the KBS Drama Awards in 2009.
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Pollen Flower | |
| 1980 | Vicious Woman | Mother-in-Law |
| The Wooden Horse That Went to Sea | ||
| 1982 | Late Autumn | The Warden |
| 1985 | Cabbage in a Pepper Field | |
| 1988 | Last Dancing | |
| 1991 | The Pinwheel that Spins Alone | Grandmother |
| 1992 | From the Seom River to the Sky | Jae-in's Mother |
| 2002 | The Beauty in Dream | Grandmother |
| 2005 | Mapado | Mrs. Chairman Hoe Jang |
| 2006 | Family Matters | |
| 2007 | Mapado 2: Back to the Island | Mrs. Chairman Hoe Jang |
| Sorrow Even Up in Heaven |
Television series edit
| Year | Title | Role | Network |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Eun-ha's Dream | KBS1 | |
| Youth March | KBS2 | ||
| 1987 | Door of Desires | ||
| Land | Ham Ahn-daek | KBS1 | |
| 1988 | The Winter That Year Was Warm | KBS2 | |
| 1991 | What's Love? | Jin Soo | MBC |
| 1993 | Stormy Season | Choong-in's Mother | |
| 1994 | The Moon of Seoul | Sang-gook's Grandmother | |
| My Son's Woman | Moon Jung-ok | ||
| 1995 | LA Arirang | SBS | |
| 1996 | 1.5 Generation | MBC | |
| Dad is the Boss | SBS | ||
| 1997 | Because I Love You | Ae-kyung's grandmother | |
| 1998 | I Love You, I Love You | Bong-sook's Mother | |
| King and Queen | Former Internal Princess Consort Shin | KBS1 | |
| Seven Brides | Na Gap-sun | SBS | |
| 1999 | Trap of Youth | Yun-hee's Grandmother | |
| 2000 | Foolish Love | Sang-woo's mother | KBS2 |
| More Than Words Can Say | Lee Jin-jin | KBS1 | |
| 2001 | Stock Flower | ||
| I Want To See Your Face | Song Kil-ja | MBC | |
| Like Father, Like Son | Jum Soon | KBS2 | |
| 2002 | Who's My Love? | Duk-bae's wife | |
| Golden Wagon | Ahn Gap-jin | MBC | |
| Drama City: Like Vienna Coffee | KBS2 | ||
| Sunrise House | Kim Soon-nyeo | SBS | |
| 2003 | Drama City: Chief of Five Zoom | KBS2 | |
| On The Prairie | Charman Shin's Grandmother | ||
| Swan Lake | Myung Soon-keum | MBC | |
| Jewel in the Palace | Court Lady Jung Mal-geum | ||
| 2004 | Miss Kim's Million Dollar Quest | Lee Kkeut-soon | SBS |
| Oh Feel Young | Chairwoman Shin | KBS2 | |
| 2005 | Bad Housewife | No Jin-ye | SBS |
| My Lovely Sam Soon | Manager Ms. Oh | MBC | |
| Sisters of the Sea | Cho Han-bin | ||
| 2006 | Bad Family | Park Bok-nyu | SBS |
| How Much Love? | Dong-soo's Grandmother | MBC | |
| My Lovely Fool | Dong-joo's Grandmother | SBS | |
| 2007 | Hello! Miss | Lee Hak | KBS2 |
| War of Money | Madam Bong | SBS | |
| Daughters-in-Law | Suh Ong-sim | KBS2 | |
| The King and I | SBS | ||
| 2008 | Why Did You Come to My House? | Gong Ok-ja | |
| 2009 | Love and Obsession | Madame Byeon | KBS2 |
References edit
- ^ "S.Korea Mourns the Death of Veteran Actress and Ex-President". Allkpop. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2018-12-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Actress Yeo Woon-gae, 69, Dies of Lung Cancer". Korea Times. 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
- ^ "'대장금 큰상궁' 탤런트 여운계씨 별세…폐암 투병끝 69세로". 23 May 2009.
- ^ "고(故) 여운계, 그녀는 누구인가". 2009-05-22.
External links edit
- Yeo Woon-kay at IMDb
- Yeo Woon-kay at the Korean Movie Database