Yoon Jeong-hee (; July 30, 1944 – January 19, 2023) was a South Korean actress and beauty pageant titleholder who competed at Miss Korea 1964. She debuted in 1967 in ''Theatre of Youth''. She appeared in about 330 films, and her better known works are ' (1979), ' (1987) and ''Manmubang'' (1994). Her last performance was in 2010, in director

Lee Chang-dong Lee Chang-dong (; born July 4, 1954) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist. He has directed six feature films: ''Green Fish'' (1997), ''Peppermint Candy (film), Peppermint Candy'' (1999), ''Oasis (2002 film), Oasis'' (2002) ...

's film ''

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

'', for which she won 7 best actress awards including Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actress at 4th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the Grand Bell Award at 47th Grand Bell Awards, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award at 2011 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.

Career

Yoon was born in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

Korea, Empire of Japan From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

and debuted as an actress in 1967 by starring in ''Cheongchun Geukjang'' directed by Gang Dae-jin after being chosen in a recruit held by Hapdong Film. Yoon was commonly referred to as one of the "Troika" (three) of the 1960s, along with her rival actresses, Moon Hee and Nam Jeong-im. She came out of retirement in 2010 to star in

's film, ''

'', which won her the

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress was an award given annually by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. It was first introduced in 1975 to reward the best performance by a leading actress. In 2022, it was announce ...

and the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actress.

Personal life and death

Yoon married noted pianist Kun-Woo Paik in 1974. The couple had a daughter who is a violinist. Yoon resided in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France with her family since her retirement in the mid-1990s, until making her comeback in

's ''

''. Throughout her life, Yoon was a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, having been baptized in her junior high school years. Yoon, who suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, died on January 19, 2023, in Paris. She was 78.

Filmography

*Note; the whole list is referenced.

Awards

* 1967, the 6th

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

: New Actress () * 1967, the 5th

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

: Favorite Actress * 1968, the 4th

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the newspaper ''Hankook Ilbo'', ...

: Film part, New Actress () * 1969, the 6th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Favorite Actress * 1970, the 6th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1970, the 6th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Best Acting Award () * 1970, the 7th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Favorite Actress * 1971, the 10th Grand Bell Awards : Best Actress () * 1971, the 7th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Best Acting Award () * 1971, the 7th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1971, the 8th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Favorite Actress * 1972, the 8th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1972, the 9th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Best Actress () * 1972, the 9th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Favorite Actress * 1973, the 9th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Best Acting Award () * 1973, the 9th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1973, the 10th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Best Actress () * 1973, the 10th Blue Dragon Film Awards : Favorite Actress * 1974, the 10th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1975, the 11th Baeksang Arts Awards : Film part, Favorite Actress selected by readers * 1992, the 12th

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The ce ...

: Best Acting Award() () * 1994, the 32nd Grand Bell Awards : Best Actress () * 2010, the 47th

: Best Actress (''

'') * 2010, the 31st

: Best Actress (''

'') * 2010, the 4th

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

: Best Performance by an Actress (''

'') * 2010, the 2010 Women in Film Korea Festival: Woman in Film of the Year (''

'') * 2011, the 13th

Cinemanila International Film Festival The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Sout ...

: Best Actress (''

'') * 2011, the 37th

Los Angeles Film Critics Association The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles–based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organi ...

: Best Actress (''

'') * 2018, the 38th

: Lifetime Award * 2023, the Korean Film Achievement Award at the

28th Busan International Film Festival The 28th Busan International Film Festival () opened on October 4 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. Song Kang-ho of ''Parasite (2019 film), Parasite'' fame welcomed filmmakers as host of the festival, while Park Eun-bin acted as ...

(posthumous).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoon, Jeong-Hee 1944 births 2023 deaths South Korean film actresses Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in France Asia Pacific Screen Award winners Best Actress Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners Best Actress for Grand Bell Awards winners Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean actresses Korea University alumni University of Paris alumni South Korean Roman Catholics South Korean expatriates in France Actresses from Busan Best New Actress for Grand Bell Awards winners Miryang Son clan