"What This World Needs Is Good People"... Eldest Son of the Late Ahn Sung-ki in Tears as He Reads Father's Letter

[The Financial News] The late Ahn Sung-ki, a beloved national actor, was laid to rest as family and colleagues bid him a tearful final farewell.
On the morning of the 9th, the funeral service was held at the Familia Chapel of Myeongdong Cathedral in Jung District, Seoul, with the bereaved family and fellow actors in attendance.

Ahn Da-bin, the eldest son of Ahn Sung-ki, delivered a message of thanks on behalf of the family.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who took the time to come this busy morning and see him off,” Ahn Da-bin said. “I believe he will continue to uphold the professional spirit of a filmmaker even in heaven.”
He went on, “I carefully stepped into my father’s study, which I had always regarded as a sacred place since I was young. I began sorting through the things he had kept and never thrown away in that space where he was no longer present. I don’t remember it, but I found a letter he wrote to me when I was five. It was written to me, but it feels like a message he left for all of us, so I would like to read it.” He then read aloud the letter his father had written to him as a child.
Ahn Da-bin began reading: “Da-bin, on the day you first came into this world, the moment I saw your face—so much like mine, yet smaller than my fist—my eyes welled up with tears. Seeing how much you have already grown and how mature you have become, there is nothing in this world I could envy.”
He continued reading: “What kind of person should you become, Da-bin? I hope you will always be humble, honest, and broad-minded. You should be someone who does his very best in his work and knows how to govern failure and sorrow with peace of mind. You must not lose your ambition and courage, and if you keep challenging yourself without end, the path forward will reveal itself.”
He went on, reading through tears: “Always be glad that you have your younger brother Philip, and become an older brother who can pray for him. Never forget that what this world truly and irreplaceably needs is good people. Dad, 1993.”

Ahn Sung-ki was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2019 and underwent treatment, receiving a complete remission diagnosis the following year. However, the disease later recurred, and he focused on recovery. On the 30th of last month, he collapsed after food became lodged in his throat and was admitted to the intensive care unit in an unconscious state. He passed away six days later, on the 5th, at the age of 74.
The wake was held at the funeral hall of The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, and a five-day funeral was conducted as a film industry funeral. Throughout the five days of the service, figures from all walks of life visited the funeral hall to pay their respects.
On the day of his passing, the government posthumously awarded him the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest honor in the field of popular culture and arts.
Before the funeral service, a memorial Mass praying for the repose of his soul was held in the main sanctuary of Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.
Around 600 people attended the Mass, including Choi Hwi-young, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), director Lee Joon-ik, and actors Hyun Bin, Jung Joon-ho, Park Sang-won, and Byun Yo-han.
After the memorial Mass and funeral service concluded, the funeral procession departed for Byeolgeurida Memorial Park, Yangpyeong, where he was to be laid to rest. Family members, fellow actors, and citizens bid farewell to the late actor as they bowed to the hearse leaving Myeongdong Cathedral.
Ahn Sung-ki made his debut as a child actor in the 1957 film "The Twilight Train" and went on to appear in more than 170 works over 69 years. He was cherished as a national actor and a leading figure in Korean cinema.
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter