Photo: Memorial of An Seong-gi. Credit: Press pool.
Actor An Seong-gi 안성기 passed away in Seoul on January 5 after collapsing at his home on December 30, 2025. An had battled blood cancer since 2019, but had appeared to be recovering.
An was born in Daegu 대구 in 1950 to the film producer An Hwa-yeong 안화영, and debuted as a child actor at age 7 when the famed director Kim Gi-yeong 김기영, a friend of his father’s, cast him in the 1957 movie The Twilight Train 황혼열차. From 1980 to the mid-1990s, An was the face of Korean cinema with hits like The Whale Hunt 고래사냥 (1984) and Two Cops 투캅스 (1993). An’s 2003 movie Silmido 실미도, a thriller about a 1970s covert South Korean unit that ultimately attacked Seoul, became the first South Korean movie to draw 10m theatergoers.
An was a dedicated philanthropist, and served as one of South Korea’s first honorary ambassadors for UNICEF. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 문화체육관광부 posthumously awarded An the Golden Order of Cultural Merit 금관문화훈장, the highest honor given for cultural advancement.
