Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn in June 2019
Born	(1952-01-01)January 1, 1952 (age 73) Seoul, South Korea
Alma mater	Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Korea University Graduate School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–present
Agent	Artist Company
Spouse	Oh So-yeong ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	2
Honours	Bo-gwan Order of Cultural Merit (2005) Eun-gwan Order of Cultural Merit (2013)
Korean name
Hangul	안성기
Hanja	安聖基
Revised Romanization	An Seong-gi
McCune–Reischauer	An Sŏngki

Ahn Sung-ki (Korean: 안성기; born January 1, 1952^[1]) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors,^[2] he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years.^[3][4] He received Bog-wan Order of Cultural Merit in 2005 Culture Day.^[5][6]

A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker and producer and started out as a child actor, appearing in directorKim Ki-young's celebrated filmThe Housemaid (1960).^[7][8] He stopped acting in films to concentrate on his studies but was active in theater as a student atHankuk University of Foreign Studies.^[9] He completedmandatory military service in 1976 as an artillery officer after earning his commission via theReserve Officers' Training Corps program.^[10]

After hisdischarge, Ahn resumed his acting career. He won recognition in the 1980 filmA Fine, Windy Day and was named Best New Actor at theGrand Bell Awards. This was followed by a Best Film Actor Award at the 1982Baeksang Arts Awards for his role as a Buddhist monk inIm Kwon-taek's critically-acclaimedMandala, still regarded by critics as one of the best domestic films of all time.^[11][12] Ahn notably shaved his head for the role.^[13] Over the years, he began diversifying his repertoire. He andPark Joong-hoon starred in the 1993 hitbuddy cop-comedyTwo Cops and won the "Daesang" (Grand Prize) at the Baeksang Arts Awards. Their on-screen chemistry as fellow detectives was highly popular with audiences and has been retrospectively dubbed the original on-screen "bromance" of Korean cinema.^[14][15]

Ahn has played the President of South Korea twice, in the moviesThe Romantic President (2002) andHanbando (2006). In 2003 Ahn starred in the semi-biographical filmSilmido, which also starred several other notable names. It was the first domestic film to sell over 10 million tickets.^[3] The phrase "Shoot me and go." uttered by his character became iconic and spawned many parodies and caricatures.^[14][16] He and hisTwo Cops co-star Park Joong-hoon reunited for the 2006 filmRadio Star, directed by acclaimed directorLee Joon-ik. Despite stiff competition fromTazza: The High Rollers, which was released on the same day, it was still a critical and commercial success, with Park and Ahn being nominated for or winning several awards.^[17] That year Ahn also starred in the Hong Kong-Chinaperiod co-productionA Battle of Wits alongside top starsAndy Lau andFan Bingbing.^[18] During this period, he was known to be a vocal critic of the halving of screen quotas that allows foreign films to be shown in theaters on certain days, while domestic films are allotted another number of days.^[19][20] At that time he was serving as a committee member in the Korean Film Actors Association's leadership and joined theunion's two demonstrations in solidarity with other notable film directors, actors and actresses.^[21][22][23]

Ahn surprised critics and commentators by appearing in the low-budget semi-biographical 2011 filmUnbowed since it had been rejected by major distributors due to its controversial content. It was released to minimal fanfare but quickly became a sleeper hit due to its "David and Goliath" storyline which resonated with viewers.^[24][25] Usually known for portraying warm or fatherly characters, he portrayed a mathematics professor furious at the injustice he suffered at the hands of corrupt judicial officials.^[26] The critically-acclaimed film became an unexpected box office hit, earning Ahn awards at theKorean Association of Film Critics Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards.

On August 6, 2021, Ahn signed a contract with Artist Company.^[27]

A much respected figure in the film industry, Ahn is often dubbed "the nation's actor" (Korean: 국민배우) by the media, although he himself has stated that he prefers being known simply as another film actor.^{[28][3][29][18]} He has been described as an actor "who boasts a truly diverse and vast filmography that changes with the times."^[30] He has served as Vice President and President of the Korean Film Actors Association.^[31]

In 2008 he received theNikkei Asia Prize in Culture and Community.^[32]

On 23 June 2012, Ahn andLee Byung-hun became some of the first Korean actors to leave their hand and foot prints on the forecourt ofGrauman's Chinese Theatre inHollywood, Los Angeles. He was recommended by the Korean Film Producers Association for his body of work.^[33]

In 2013 Ahn was awarded theOrder of Cultural Merit (Eungwan, 2nd Class) by theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.^[34][35]

Ahn is close friends with singer-songwriterCho Yong-pil. They were childhood friends and schoolmates at the now-defunct Kyungdong Middle School and remained friends even though they attended different high schools.^[36][37]

Ahn married sculptor and university professor Oh So-yeong in 1985 atMyeongdong Cathedral.^[38] They have two sons, one of whom married at the same venue the day after his parents' 33rd wedding anniversary.^[2][39] A devout Catholic, Ahn was one of 30 Catholic celebrities who appeared in the 2014 music video for the digital single "Koinonia" to commemorate Pope Francis's visit to South Korea, the first time in 19 years that the pope visited Asia.^[40][41][42]

Because of his ability to speak several foreign languages,UNICEF appointed Ahn as a representative, and his image is often seen in advertisements on planes travelling to Korea.^[9][43]

• Ahn Sung-ki atIMDb
• Ahn Sung-ki at theKorean Movie Database

• Best Actor for Grand Bell Awards winners
• Best New Actor for Grand Bell Awards winners
• Best Actor Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best Supporting Actor Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best Actor Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners
• 20th-century South Korean male actors
• 21st-century South Korean male actors
• South Korean male film actors
• South Korean Roman Catholics
• Male actors from Seoul
• 1952 births
• Living people
• UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors
• Hankuk University of Foreign Studies alumni
• Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize
• Grand Prize Paeksang Arts Award (Film) winners

• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Korean-language text
• Articles with hCards