Legendary South Korean actor Lee Soon Jae sadly passed away on Tuesday, November 25 (KST). He was 91 years old. Boasting a prolific and decades-spanning career on both small and big screen, the K-drama icon had well established his identity as an “eternal working actor,” according to AllKpop.
As per the official press release by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the late actor was posthumously awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit on Tuesday evening.
This honour seeks to commemorate outstanding contributions to the development of culture and arts. In light of Lee Soon Jae’s passing early in the day, the South Korean minister of culture, sports and tourism, Choi Hwi Young, presented the medal to his bereaved family on the behalf of the government.
His agency has since revealed that Lee’s funeral will be held at the Asan Medical Centre in Songpa District, southern Seoul, with the procession scheduled to take place at 6:20 am on Thursday. Thereafter, he will be buried at Eden Paradise in Icheon, Gyeonggi.
Who was Lee Soon Jae?
The veteran star even made it to award-winning headlines last year for his comedy series Dog Knows Everything. The 12-episode show’s broadcast commenced on the Korean channel KBS2 in September 2024.
Consequently, Lee was nominated across several categories for his performance at the KBS Drama Awards. He went on to clinch victories as the Grand Prize (Daesang) winner for the same in January 2025, becoming the oldest recipient in the award’s history. It also marked his first daesang since the MBC Entertainment Awards in 2007.
He also secured a trophy for the Best Couple Award category.
Earlier this year, he even clinched the Best Actor award at the Korea Producers Awards. However, he couldn’t attend the event due to health reasons.
The deceased South Korean legend made his debut in the 1956 play called “Beyond the Horizon.” Despite hitting his early 90s, he maintained his active streak in various fields over the years. The very next year, he made news for securing his first small-screen role in the TV series, Blue Horizon.
At one point, he even appeared in over 30 projects in a single month, redefining what it meant to be a busy actor.
According to the South Korean ministry’s official press release, he held a glistening record of 140 works under his belts. His contributions encompassed credits in stage plays, K-dramas, variety shows and sitcoms.
Born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea in 1934, he later fled to the south, and had inevitably witnessed the Korean War. Lee eventually studied philosophy at the prestigious Seoul National University. As we doing so, Laurence Olivier’s film Hamlet left a deep mark on him, prompting him to switch paths and choose acting as his vocation.
Even during his time in college, he helped revive its theatre club and did his part by participating in national theatre competitions.
In addition to his acting career spanning nearly 70 years, Lee also ventured into the political world in the 1990s. He eventually gave up that role to fully commit himself to his artistic profession. Although his post as a lawmaker for short-lived, he actively worked toward changing several culture-relates laws to recognise performers’ rights. One of these he worked on was the Copyright Act, as per Korea JoongAng Daily.
Honing his craft, he chose to mentor juniors as well through his position as a professor of acting at Sejong University and Gachon University. On the same page of things, he founded an independent theatre troupe for university students following his own graduation.
Over the years, his TV appearances in K-dramas and variety shows have affectionately granted him quite a few nicknames. Some of these include “Straightforward Soon Jae,” “Nation’s Grandpa” and “Adult Video Soon Jae.”
While in his late 80s in 2022, he took the stage for four plays, ultimately becoming the oldest Korean actor to play King Lear’s role in the Shakespearean tragedy.
Towards the end of his glorious life, the actor continued to play his part in the play “Waiting for Godot.” Although health issues ultimately left him with no choice but to take a step back, he promised to make his stage comeback, but he couldn’t fulfil it in the end.
Lee Soon Jae K-dramas
The award-winning drama Dog Knows Everything has now etched itself in the history books as Lee Soon Jae’s final TV role.
Years ago, he found his breakout role in Korea’s first daily TV series It’s Snowing (1964). Thereafter, his performance in Detective Notebook, the country’s first crime show, the following two years earned him noteworthy fame as well.
Having made his film debut with Early Rain in 1966, he went on to bag the Best Actor at the 13th Baeksang Arts Awards (1977) for his contributions to the film Persistence.
In 1990s, his popularity soared with dramas like See and See Again, Hur Jun in the late 1990s. Both MBC titles achieved record viewership ratings, with their personal highest sitting at 57.3% and 64.8%, respectively.
Then, in the mid 200s, he gained the role of a meme-worthy grandfather character in the sitcom High Kick!
On Friday, MBC will be playing a special documentary in its efforts to pay tribute to the TV icon. KBS 2TV, on the other hand, broadcast “Special Tribute: National Actor Lee Soon-jae — ‘Dog Knows Everything,’ Episodes 1 to 4” from 10:45 pm to 12:05 am KST on Tuesday.
It is also set to air the actor’s 2006 standalone drama during “Special Tribute: National Actor Lee Soon-jae — Ten Minutes, Your Trivial Moments” from 11:10 pm to 12:25 am on Wednesday.