Funeral is the President of the Korean Broadcasting Comedy Association
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Comedian Nam Bowon (real name Kim Deokyong) passed away from pneumonia on the 21st at the age of 84.
The Korea Broadcasting Comedians Association announced that Nam Bowon, who was hospitalized and receiving treatment at Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, passed away around 3:40 PM that day.
According to the association, the deceased developed pneumonia due to overlapping overwork and old age, which eventually left him unable to get up.
Born in Suncheon, Pyongannam-do, North Korea, he debuted in the entertainment industry in 1963 by winning first place in the "Star Birth Comedy" hosted by the Korean Film Association. Afterwards, with the spread of TV in the 1970s and the heyday of show programs, he was active as a leading figure in Korean comedy until the 1980s.
He was called the "Master of the One-Man Show" and was loved by many, with his specialties including imitations of fighter jet engine sounds and takeoffs, ship horns departing, and train whistles.
In particular, he enjoyed great popularity with the late Baek Nambong as a two-man show. When Baek Nambong passed away, Nam Bowon visited the funeral hall for three days and tearfully said, "Now that he has passed away, it feels like I have lost one wing, and I am at a loss as to how to live."
He also appeared in films such as "Airborne Special Forces Operation," "We Are Going to Geneva Now," "Sareoritta," and "Obuja."
During his lifetime, he received the 1996 Arts and Culture Award from the Federation of Artistic and Cultural Organizations, the Grand Prize and the Hwagwan Cultural Medal at the 4th Korea Entertainment Arts Awards in 1997, the 3rd Korea New Creator Grand Prize in the Happy Society Making category in 2015, and the Silver Cultural Medal at the 7th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards in 2016.
In 2018, he appeared on TV Chosun's "Life Documentary My Way," expressing special affection for his wife and daughter by saying, "There are two women in my life."
The funeral hall will be set up at Samsung Seoul Hospital. The funeral will be held as the chairman of the Korea Broadcasting Comedians Association. The funeral procession will take place on the 23rd. The burial site is the family grave at Namhansanseong.
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