Cho Yong-pil made a quiet visit to the wake of the late Ahn Sung-ki, paying his final respects to the beloved screen icon.
As soon as the memorial was set up at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seocho on the afternoon of the 5th, the music legend arrived to mourn his longtime friend.
“I’m in the middle of a tour and pretty run down, but when I heard my friend had passed so suddenly, I came right away,” Cho told reporters, his voice heavy with grief. Standing before the portrait, he added, “Rest well. Sung-ki, we’ll meet again.”
Cho, currently marking the 40th anniversary of his debut, is scheduled to play four nights at Olympic Park’s KSPO Dome starting in four days.
The bond between Cho and Ahn stretches back to their school days. The two were classmates at Kyungdong Middle School in Seoul. On KBS’ "Big Show" in 1997, Cho recalled, “I was roll call No. 29 and Ahn Sung-ki was my partner at No. 30. We lived near each other and often walked home together.”
Ahn passed away on the 5th at age 74, a loss widely covered by international media as the Korean film industry mourns one of its brightest stars.
A film industry funeral is planned, with the procession set for 6 a.m. on the 9th.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)