The final records of the late actor Lee Soon-jae’s life will be revealed.
On the 12th, KBS2’s ‘Celebrity Soldier’s Secret’ will shine a light on the life of ‘eternal active actor’ Lee Soon-jae, who graced the stage until the very end of his life.
The late Lee Soon-jae’s fiery passion and previously untold behind-the-scenes stories of his battle with illness, endured through 70 years of acting with sheer determination, have deeply moved us and brought tears to our eyes.
In January 2025, Lee Soon-jae won his first-ever acting grand prize after 70 years since his debut. Three months after halting activities due to deteriorating health, Lee Soon-jae appeared on stage looking frail and said, “If you live long enough, days like this come.” He also conveyed his greetings, saying, “I owe many of you a great deal.”
It’s especially known that Lee Soon-jae was diagnosed with cataracts and had to undergo surgery immediately while filming his final work, ‘Gae Sori’. He flatly refused the production team’s recommendation to rest, stating, “I cannot cause any harm.” He returned to the camera just fifteen days later, but his vision was poor, and his hearing was also impaired. The story of him completing the project by memorizing lines read aloud by his manager, despite the extreme conditions of both his sight and hearing being diminished, is truly touching.
On this broadcast, Park So-dam, who performed in plays with Lee Soon-jae, and Park Hae-mi, who worked with him on sitcoms, will appear. Park So-dam shared an anecdote about Lee Soon-jae’s astonishing memorization skills, which she witnessed from script readings during their time performing plays together. It’s said that MC Lee Chan-won, faced with Lee Soon-jae’s strict self-discipline, lightened the mood and made the set burst into laughter by jokingly saying, “At least I don’t smoke.”
Specialist Lee Nak-jun stated that “the habit of repeatedly memorizing specific information actually helps maintain or increase the brain’s storage capacity,” emphasizing Lee Soon-jae’s passion and determination.
