'World Star' Collapses... Actress Kang Soo-yeon Unconscious

Found in Cardiac Arrest, Diagnosed with Cerebral Hemorrhage

Kang Soo-yeon, Executive Chairperson of the Busan International Film Festival

Actress Kang Soo-yeon lost consciousness and was transported to a hospital on the 5th. According to the police and fire authorities, at around 5:50 p.m. that day, paramedics who responded to a family report found her in cardiac arrest at her home in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. She was receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation and was moved to a nearby hospital for treatment. She remains unconscious. A police official stated, "There is no confirmation of any criminal suspicion or pre-existing illness." According to multiple film industry sources, she was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage and is scheduled for surgery.

Kang was an actress who dominated the Korean film industry in the 1980s and 1990s. She debuted as a child actor at the age of four and appeared in about fifty films over more than 50 years. From her early twenties, she honed her acting with strong determination, building a unique expressive world. Her passionate performances were directly linked to the international leap of Korean cinema. She won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival for her role as a surrogate mother living a tragic fate in director Im Kwon-taek's "Sibaji (1987)." This was a result of creating a contradictory yet complex image. She was the first Korean actor to receive trophies from the world's three major film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin), earning her the title of "World Star."

During this period, Kang was the busiest actress in Chungmuro. She was filming three to four movies simultaneously. In particular, in 1987, six films she starred in were released, including "Prince Yeonsan," "Potato," "We Are Going to Geneva Now," "Chohwa," and "Mimi and Cheolsu's Youth Sketch." She showcased a wide acting spectrum with different charms in each. Even afterward, she achieved various accomplishments by breaking away from stereotypes through bold challenges. A representative achievement was winning the Best Actress award at the Moscow International Film Festival for Im Kwon-taek's "Aje Aje Bara Aje (1989)." She shaved her head and portrayed a Mahayana Buddhist practice saving sentient beings from the secular world, earning high praise from critics.

In the 1990s, she was a key figure in the "Korean New Cinema." She collaborated with directors such as Park Kwang-su, Jang Sun-woo, and Lee Hyun-seung on films like "Berlin Report (1991)," "Road to the Racetrack (1991)," and "Blue in You (1992)." In 1991, she also appeared in the Taiwanese film "Naksan Wind." This was a remarkable challenge at a time when Korean actors rarely ventured overseas. Kang is also regarded as a pioneer of feminist-themed films. She appeared in works such as "Go Alone Like the Horn of a Rhinoceros (1995)" and "Virgin's Dinner (1998)," leading social and cultural trends. Based on her early experiences attending international film festivals, she also took on cultural administrative roles. Notably, from 2015 to 2017, she served as co-executive director of the Busan International Film Festival. This year, she filmed director Yeon Sang-ho's new work "Jung-E" until January.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.