"Original Stuntman" Actor Kim Youngin Passes Away at 82

Appeared in 400 to 500 Action Films

Veteran actor Kim Youngin, who appeared in action movies and dramas for over 60 years, has passed away at the age of 82.

'Original Stuntman' actor the late Kim Youngin. Bereaved family

On January 4, the bereaved family reported that Kim passed away at around 6:55 a.m. Born in 1943 in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, he graduated from Gyeonggi Commercial High School and Hanyang University’s Department of History. During his school years, he excelled in various sports such as hockey, rugby, and boxing. His passion for martial arts as a university student led him to enter the Chungmuro film industry.

In 1961, he earned the nickname “Flying Actor” after performing action scenes in place of the main characters in director Kim Kiduk’s (1934-2017) film “Five Marines.” In an article for the Korean Film Archive’s website in 2019, film researcher Gong Youngmin wrote, “The interviewee (the late Kim Youngin) was one of the first stuntmen in Korean history. The action performances of the five protagonists in ‘Five Marines’ may seem simple now, but for war action films of that era, they showcased the fundamental situations of action sequences.”

His official film debut was in director Kim Kiduk’s “Burning Youth” in 1966. He went on to appear mainly in action films, including “Royal Command” (Kang Johwon, 1967), “The True Record of Kim Doohan” (Kim Hyochun, 1974), and “The Gentleman of Camellia” (Lee Hyuksu, 1979), as well as Ryoo Seungwan’s films in the 2000s such as “No Blood No Tears” (2002), “Arahan” (2004), and “Crying Fist” (2005). He appeared in a total of 400 to 500 films. In about 200 films, he also choreographed action scenes for stars like Lee Daekeun and Kim Heera.

Director Ryoo Seungwan wrote in his book “Ryoo Seungwan’s True Colors,” “Kim Youngin’s scene in ‘The Godfather of Osaka’ (1996), where he transcended time and space in a final showdown with Mr. Lee Daekeun, was truly impressive.”

From the 1980s onward, he also appeared in TV dramas. In 1989, he played Kim Doohan in the KBS drama “Mupungjidae.” He served as an executive director of the Korean Movie Actors Association. In 2006, he received a Special Acting Award at the 43rd Grand Bell Awards.

During his oral history interview with the Korean Film Archive, Kim recalled that unique scenes in Korean action films emerged because supporting actors would try to appear in as many shots as possible. He said, “They would scream ‘Aaaah!’ and roll around pretending to be hit, then fall down as if dead, but instead of staying down, they’d pull up all the grass around them, get back up, and then die again.”

The funeral is being held in Room 7 of the funeral hall at Severance Hospital in Sinchon. The procession will take place at 7:40 a.m. on January 6. The burial site is Seoul Memorial Park in Wonji-dong.