Byun Hee-bong (; born Byun In-chul; 8 June 1942 – 18 September 2023) was a South Korean film, television and voice actor. In 1963, he embarked on his voice acting career by making his debut in the first season of DBS Donga Broadcasting. He further expanded his experience by joining the second season of MBC Culture Broadcasting in 1965.
Making his acting debut in 1970, he was known as director Bong Joon-ho's personal favorite actor, and his performances in the director's films have sparked a fresh wave of recognition for his unique contributions as a supporting actor. He appeared in four of Bong Joon-ho's feature films. In Barking Dogs Never Bite, he portrayed a peculiar apartment security guard with a deep affinity for bone soup. In Memories of Murder, he took on the role of a local detective chief, while in The Host, he captivated audiences as Park Hee-bong, the grandfather of the film's protagonist's family. For this role, Byun also won several awards, including the 27th Blue Dragon Film Awards for best supporting actor. In Okja, Byun made a special appearance as Joo Hee-bong.
Early life Byun In-chul was born in Sinchang Village, Sinpyeong-ri, Buk-myeon, Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province.
He attended Salesian High School in Gwangju. He took up law at Chosun University before dropping out to pursue acting.
Career Byun entered the MBC actor's auditions in 1965, and made his acting debut in 1970. A year later in 1971, he became a regular on the landmark police procedural Chief Inspector. At the time of his debut, he used his real name, Byeon In-cheol, but in 1977, in an attempt to improve his image as a villain, he used the stage name Byun Hee-bong.
Throughout the 1970s, he became known on TV as a character actor who played eccentric men who didn't quite fit in with mainstream Korean society. He transitioned to the big screen in the 1980s, and earlier in his film career, starred in the classic Lee Doo-yong film Eunuch (1986) and A Surrogate Father (1993).
In 2000, Byun appeared in a memorable supporting role in Bong Joon-ho's directorial debut Barking Dogs Never Bite, playing a bizarre apartment maintenance man with a love for dog meat. It rejuvenated his career, and Bong would later cast him in the short film Sink & Rise (2004), and his seminal works crime drama Memories of Murder (2003) and monster movie The Host (2006). The Host became the top-grossing Korean film of all time, and Byun won much acclaim for his performance as the strong-willed patriarch of a "loser" family, including Best Supporting Actor awards at the Asia Pacific Film Festival and Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Among Byun's other notable roles were in martial arts fantasy Volcano High (2001), rural dramedy My Teacher, Mr. Kim (2003), horror comedy To Catch a Virgin Ghost (2004), body swap thriller The Devil's Game (2008), and espionage film The Spies (2012). Byun was also known for being active in television, with his portrayals of endearing, humorous fathers/grandfathers, or stern, cunning professionals.
Death Byun died from complications of pancreatic cancer in Seoul on 18 September 2023, at the age of 81.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role 1980 Dull Servant Pal Bul-chul 1983 Hotel at 00:00 Reporter Kim 1985 A Man With Color 1986 Eunuch No Woman Is Afraid of the Night Deok Sa-gong 1988 We Are Going to Geneva Now Countryside doctor Karma The World of Women Professor Park 1992 A Surrogate Father 2000 Barking Dogs Never Bite Byun Byeong-bi 2001 Volcano High Vice principal Jang Hak-sa 2003 Scent of Love Second-hand bookstore owner My Teacher, Mr. Kim Choi No-in Memories of Murder Sergent Koo Hee-bong Spring Breeze Writer Noh 2004 Au Revoir, UFO Real estate agent To Catch a Virgin Ghost Lovely Rivals Principal Byun In-chul Sink & Rise (short film) 2005 Another Public Enemy Byun Hee-bong Crying Fist Sang-hwan's coach Detective Mr. Gong Gong Pil-doo's father 2006 The Host Park Hee-bong Mission Sex Control Mr. Kang 2007 Small Town Rivals CEO Baek 2008 The Devil's Game Kang No-shik 2009 Lifting King Kong school superintendent Searching for the Elephant zoo official (cameo) 2010 Haunters Jung-shik 2011 In Love and War Village leader 2012 I Am the King Shin Ik-yeok The Spies Adviser Yoon 2013 Mr. Go Weiwei's grandfather (cameo) 2017 Okja Hee-bong 2019 By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture Baek Young-Kam
Television +Television series appearancesYearTitleRoleEnglishKorean 1970 101 Hong Kong홍콩 101번지 bit part 1971 Chief Inspector 수사반장 1973 113 Investigation Division 113 수사본부1976Wealthy Merchant Im Sang-ok거상 임상옥1978Government정부인1979Season of Love사랑의 계절Last Witness최후의 증인 Anguk-dong Madam 안국동 아씨1980The End of the Line종점Power Diary전원일기 Various minor roles other than Hyeran's father 1981 New Madam 새아씨 1st Republic 제1공화국Ahn Jae-hong 1982 Market People 시장사람들 1983 Trade King Choi Bong-joon무역왕 최봉준 Sunflower in Winter 겨울 해바라기 Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – "The King of Chudong Palace" 조선왕조 오백년 – 추동궁 마마 Nam Eun 3840 Shortstop3840 유격대 1984 Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – "The Ume Tree in the Midst of the Snow" 조선왕조 오백년 – 설중매 Yu Jagwang Governor-General of Korea조선총독부Lee Wan-yongChusa Kim Jung-hee추사 김정희1985Wild Orchid풍란 (드라마)Yu JagwangWhite-haired Youth백발의 청춘 The Season of Men 남자의 계절 Kim Joong-han 1986Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – "Hoecheonmun"조선왕조 오백년 – 회천문Choe Myeong-gil Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – "Namhan Mountain Castle" 조선왕조 오백년 – 남한산성 Choe Myeong-gil 1987 Beautiful Secret Love Affair아름다운 밀회 President Jang 1988 Three Women세 여인 Five Hundred Years of the Joseon Dynasty – "The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong"조선왕조 오백년 – 한중록 Park Mun-su Our Town 우리 읍내 Nam Dae-chun 1989 The 2nd Republic 제2공화국 The Fifth Row 제5열 Jo Geum-san Legacy유산 Lawyer Hwang 1990Daewongun대원군 (1990년 드라마)Hong Soon- mokAnti-People Special Committee반민특위 (드라마)Choi Un- ha The Handmaid and Gainae머슴아와 가이내 1991 Eyes of Dawn 여명의 눈동자 Park Choon-geum Three Day Promise 3일의 약속 We're Middle Class 우리는 중산층 Patriarch Park 1993 For The Poet 시인을 위하여 The 3rd Republic Hyun Seok-ho MBC Best Theater – "Soon-dal and Byung-gu and Ok-joo" Byung-gu's father Moonlight Hometown달빛 고향 1994 Close One Eye 한쪽 눈을 감아요 1995 Relationship Is 인연이란 Seoul Nightsangok 서울 야상곡 Asphalt Man Glorious Dawn Heungseon Daewongun 1996 Halt 간이역 Tears of the Dragon 1997 Desire Yoon-seok Scamper질주 1998 Love and Success The King's Path Legend of Ambition 1999 Hur Jun Sung In-chul 2000 Mokminsimseo 서용보 Secret Chan-shik Foolish Princes Yeo Jae-man 2002 The Dawn of the Empire Kim Geun-ryul Lovers Gong Hee-bong (cameo) 2003 Something About 1% Lee Kyu-chul Drama City – "The Truth About Wormwood and Garlic" 쑥과 마늘에 관한 진실 principal Damo 2004 Good Morning Confucius 굿모닝 공자 Go Dok-han New Human Market Oh Jong-doo Choice A Second Proposal 2005 Green Rose Prosecutor Jung My Girl Seol Woong Drama City – "Gyeryongsan Buyong" 계룡산 부용이 Sabu 2006 Great Inheritance Jung Il-do Wolf Senator Yoon Gab-soo 2007 Behind the White Tower Oh Kyung-hwan Witch Yoo Hee Ma Yoon-hoon 2009 My Too Perfect Sons Song Shi-yeol 2010 Master of Study Cha Ki-bong My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho Cha Poong The President Go Sang-ryul 2011 Glory Jane Old man Hwang (cameo) 2012 Ohlala Couple Wolha, matchmaker of fate 2013 Princess Aurora Oh Dae-san Goddess of Fire Moon Sa-seung 2014 Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit Han Won-bin Drama Festival – "Lump in My Life" Pan-shik Pinocchio Choi Gong-pil 2015 Save the Family Jung Soo-bong 2016 Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist President Kim 2016 Blow Breeze Kim Deok-cheon 2019 My Lawyer, Mr. Jo 2: Crime and Punishment Kook Hyun-il
Theater YearTitleRoleTheaterDate English Korean 2013 Snow of March3월의 눈Jang-ohNational Theatre Company Baek Sung-jang Min-ho TheatreMarch 1–23
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1982 MBC Drama Awards 1985 Hankook Ilbo Popularity Award The Ume Tree in the Midst of the Snow 21st Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actor (TV) 1986 JoongAng Ilbo Our Star Award 2003 2nd Korean Film Awards Best Supporting Actor My Teacher, Mr. Kim 2004 KBS Drama Awards Best Actor in a One-Act Drama/Special 2006 51st Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Supporting Actor The Host 27th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Supporting Actor 9th Director's Cut Awards Performer of the Year (ensemble cast) 2007 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor (Film) 44th Grand Bell Awards Best Supporting Actor 4th Best Film Awards Best Supporting Actor 2008 44th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Actor (Film) The Devil's Game 2009 KMDb Choiwos Awards Best Supporting Actor 2010 KBS Drama Awards Best Supporting Actor Master of Study 2014 MBC Drama Awards Best Actor in a One-Act/Short Drama Lump in My Life
State honors +List of State Honour(s)StateAward CeremonyYearHonorSouth Korea Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards2020Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit
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