"My eternal love, my everything" — Update on Koo Jun-yup one year after the death of Barbie Hsu

According to Financial News, it has been a year since Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu (Xu Xiyuan) — wife of Koo Jun-yup from the group Clon — passed away, and an update has emerged showing that Koo is still keeping vigil at her grave.
On January 29, the official YouTube channel of KBS 2TV’s variety show "Secret of the Celebrity Soldier" released a preview for the episode about Koo Jun-yup and Barbie Hsu, scheduled to air on February 3. Koo is said to visit his late wife’s grave every single day, unable to forget her after her sudden death.
To mark the first anniversary of Barbie Hsu’s passing, the production team visited Jinbaoshan Cemetery in Taiwan. There, they filmed Koo Jun-yup sitting on a small folding chair in front of his wife’s grave, quietly spending time by her side.
Host Jang Do-yeon, who met Koo Jun-yup on site along with the reporting crew, shared how he has been doing and was moved to tears. Even on days of torrential rain, Koo reportedly went to the cemetery and said, "My wife is lying there in far greater hardship than I am. How could I not come?"
That day, Koo Jun-yup also posted a video on his social media (SNS) showing the production process and unveiling ceremony of a memorial sculpture he personally designed for the first anniversary of Barbie Hsu’s death. The ceremony was attended by Koo, the late actress’s mother, her younger sister Dee Hsu, and other family members and colleagues.
According to Taiwanese contemporary artist Li Cheng-tao, who created the memorial sculpture together with Koo Jun-yup, the work is titled "Hsi-yuan’s Eternal Orbit." The nine cubes surrounding Barbie Hsu symbolize the number nine, which is pronounced "gu" in Korean, the same as "Koo," and represent "an irreplaceable code shared only between the two of them."

Koo Jun-yup also shared a handwritten letter on a notepad via his social media that day. Beginning with the words, "To my eternal love, my everything, Hsi-yuan," the letter is filled with his deep longing and affection for Barbie Hsu.

Koo wrote, "Hsi-yuan, how is it there? Is it cold, is it hot? I’m always worried," opening his heart. He continued, "In the mornings, when I sit blankly on the edge of the bed in an empty room, I still don’t know if this is reality or a dream. I keep hoping it’s a dream, and my chest tightens and aches."
He went on, "When I force my heavy body up and think, 'What should I cook today? What can I make that you would like?' and then drive to Jinbaoshan Cemetery with the food packed, tears flow endlessly because I miss you so much," expressing his aching heart.
He added, "This is the last way I have to soothe my longing for you, so I hope you understand," and confessed, "When we meet again next time, let’s stay together forever. I miss you so much, I miss you to death."
Barbie Hsu died on February 2 last year at the age of 48 from influenza accompanied by pneumonia while on a family trip to Japan. Koo Jun-yup and her family were by her side at the end. After cremation procedures in Japan, her remains were taken to Taiwan and laid to rest at Jinbaoshan Cemetery.
Barbie Hsu debuted in 1994 as part of the duo SOS with her younger sister Dee Hsu and was active until 2003. She gained huge popularity playing the female lead Shan Cai in the Taiwanese adaptation of "Boys Over Flowers," the drama "Meteor Garden" Seasons 1 and 2 (2001–2002).

She later married businessman Wang Xiaofei in 2011 and had one son and one daughter, but they divorced in 2021 after 10 years of marriage. In March 2022, she announced her marriage to Koo Jun-yup, with whom she had been in a relationship about 20 years earlier. The two had dated for about a year around 1998, and their reunion and marriage 23 years later were hailed as a "love of the century" and drew major public attention.
Meanwhile, news also emerged that a memorial sculpture had been completed ahead of the first anniversary of Barbie Hsu’s death. According to local reports on January 28, including Taiwanese outlet ETtoday, the memorial sculpture, whose design Koo Jun-yup helped create, was installed in the Celebrity Memorial Zone at Chin Pao San Memorial Park in Jinshan District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, and its unveiling ceremony was held that day.
bng@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Hee-sun Reporter