Lee Jun-ho and Go Soo paid tribute to the late Byun Hee-bong “Following the atmosphere of mourning for Lee Sun-kyun”
On Dec 30th, 2023, the “2023 APAN STAR AWARDS” was held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul.
On this day, Lee Jun-ho won the Grand Prize with JTBC’s “King the Land”, and Go Soo won the Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama with tvN’s “Missing: The Other Side 2”.
Lee Jun-ho expressed gratitude to the fellow actors and staff members with whom he collaborated in “King the Land”.
At the same time, he mentioned the late Byun Hee-bong, “It’s actors’ job to always have to express the joys, anger, sorrows and sadness, just like actors and seniors used to say, as well as senior Byun Hee-bong used to say. I want to say that I hope you will always be happy as much as you can because that energy will be delivered well to viewers only when we are happy.“
He added, “Life is short and emotions are infinite, so I hope it will be 2024 when you don’t hold back all the joys and sorrows that you feel and convey love to each other in a healthy way. Thank you again for giving me this award.”
Go Soo also conveyed his acceptance speech, saying, “Seeing senior Byun Hee-bong, whom I love, respect and miss so much, I feel solemn and more humble. Thank you so much for giving this precious and great award to someone lacking like me.”
These acceptance speeches have become a topic of discussion among netizens. Following the atmosphere of mourning for Lee Sun-kyun in various awards ceremonies, they mentioned veteran actor Byun Hee-bong, creating resonance by remembering the deceased.
Byun Hee-bong passed away on Sep 18th last year while battling pancreatic cancer.
Byun Hee-bong, who started his entertainment career in 1966, gained fame through significant works like “1st Republic”, “Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – The Ume Tree in the Midst of the Snow”, “Brilliant Dawn” and “Hur Jun”.
He later made a strong impression with his performances in director Bong Joon-ho’s films such as “Barking Dogs Never Bite”, “Memories of Murder” and “The Host”. In 2020, he was recognized as a national actor by receiving the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards.
Source: Nate
