Yoon Jeong-hee, Who Led Diversification of Female Roles, Passes Away at 79

Munhui and Nam Jeongim Open Era of Actress Troika
Breaking the Mold of Intellectual Female Roles

Actor Yoon Jeong-hee

Film actress Yoon Jeong-hee (real name Son Mi-ja) passed away on the 19th (local time) in Paris, France, at the age of 79. According to the film industry, Yoon, who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease, died that afternoon in Paris.

Born in 1944 in Busan, she entered the film industry in 1966 after being selected in a new actor audition while studying English Literature at Chosun University. Starting with director Kang Dae-jin's 'Youth Theater' the following year, she appeared in 264 films. In 1968 alone, she appeared in fifty films, opening the era of the actress troika along with Moon Hee and Nam Jeong-im. The term troika literally referred to the three-horse carriage that brilliantly adorned the silver screen and led the golden age of Korean cinema.

Her popularity was not simply due to the freshness of a new face. At the time, actresses were stereotyped as either the ideal wife and mother represented by Choi Eun-hee, Kim Ji-mi, and Jo Mi-ryeong, or the femme fatale portrayed by Do Geum-bong, Yoon In-ja, and Choi Ji-hee. Yoon Jeong-hee broke the fixed mold with an intellectual image that differentiated her from Moon Hee and Nam Jeong-im. She delivered unique performances across genres and roles in films such as 'Mist' (1967), 'General's Beard' (1968), 'The Old Man Making Alcohol' (1969), and 'Woman in Crisis' (1973). Contributing to the diversification of female roles and establishing herself as a skilled actress, she won Best Actress awards seven times at major domestic film festivals including the Grand Bell Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards, and Blue Dragon Film Awards. Her representative works include 'The Hunter' (1979), 'Woman in Crisis' (1987), and 'Manmubang' (1994).

Despite her busy acting career, she also pursued academic studies. She earned a master's degree from Chung-Ang University with a thesis titled 'On Korean Actresses' and studied arts at Paris III University from 1973 for nine years. Around that time, she married pianist Baek Geon-woo in 1976 and lived in Paris ever since. Her last work was 'Poetry' (2010), directed by Lee Chang-dong. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2017, she spent peaceful times with her family.