South Korean actress Park Ji-ah, who starred in the Netflix series The Glory (2022 to 2023), died on Sept 30. She was 52 years old.
“Park Ji-ah passed away at 2.50am (South Korean time) from cerebral infarction. We will not forget the passion of the deceased who loved performing,” her agency Billions said in a statement.
Cerebral infarction occurs when blood flow to the brain is blocked.
Park gained fame for portraying the villainous mother of protagonist Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) in the hit revenge drama The Glory.
The series, which chronicled Dong-eun’s intricate plans to take revenge on the high school bullies who violently assaulted and terrorised her, is one of Netflix’s most popular K-dramas, clocking 622.8 million viewing hours in the first year after it was released.
Park began her acting career in the theatre company Chaimu, appearing as an extra in movies like Filmmaking (1997) and Maria And The Inn (1997).
She was also a recurring actress in the filmography of the late art-house movie director Kim Ki-duk, who died in 2020 of Covid-19. She starred in several of his films, including The Coast Guard (2002), Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… And Spring (2003), 3-Iron (2004), Breath (2007) and Dream (2008).
Breath, which featured Park in a leading role as a depressed housewife who begins an affair with a man on death row, was selected to be in competition for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.
A funeral hall for Park has been set up at the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, and the funeral procession will take place on Oct 2 at 10am. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
