Veteran Actor Im Hyun-sik Remembers Late Colleagues with Deep Longing

Actor Im Hyun-sik expressed profound longing as he reminisced about his late fellow actors.

On the October 19th broadcast of MBN's current affairs program 'Special World,' Im Hyun-sik was seen visiting the memorial of the late actor Lee Soon-jae to pay his respects.

Standing in front of the memorial, Im Hyun-sik cautiously addressed, "Senior, it's me, Im Hyun-sik."

He revealed, "I went to your funeral but couldn't bring myself to enter," explaining, "It didn't feel real that you had passed, and I felt I might collapse in tears if I went in."

In an interview with the production team, Im Hyun-sik recalled his connection with the deceased. He shared, "When the senior was acting on stage, I was just a student. Later, I had the chance to work with him in minor roles, but he was someone I couldn't even dare to look at closely."

Im Hyun-sik continued, "As the saying goes in theater, 'All who are born must die.' Whether one is a king or a servant, everyone returns when their time comes." He added, "I've performed many family shows with Kim Soo-mi, and seeing so many people leave so helplessly, it doesn't feel like someone else's story."

Born in 1945, Im Hyun-sik debuted as part of the first MBC talent recruitment in 1969 and has been acting for over 50 years. He gained immense popularity for his role as Soon-dol's father in the drama 'Three Families Under One Roof' and has played memorable supporting roles in numerous hit series such as 'Hur Jun' and 'Dae Jang Geum.'

Reporter Da-yeon Jeong, Ten Asia light@tenasia.co.kr