Late South Korean actor Kim Joo-hyuk has been remembered on the ninth anniversary of his death, with a moving tribute from the head of his agency drawing renewed attention to his legacy.
According to a report by Spotv News on October 31, Namoo Actors CEO Kim Dong-sik visited Kim’s grave on October 29, one day before the anniversary, and shared a photo of the visit alongside a personal message on his own account.
In his post, Kim Dong-sik wrote that October 30 marked nine years since Kim Joo-hyuk’s death. He said he does not spend every day thinking about the late actor, but added that on the drive to Seosan, time passes without notice as those in the car talk about him, recall happy episodes, and discuss the works he appeared in.
The CEO also noted the flowers left at the grave by a fan who cherished Kim Joo-hyuk. He wrote that the beautiful flowers marked the ninth anniversary and comforted members of the Namoo Actors family and the fans who came to pay their respects.
The most widely shared part of the tribute was its closing reflection. Kim Dong-sik wrote that although the sharpness of grief may have dulled over time, this time of year still brings a strong sense of longing. He added: “If he were alive, he would be in his mid-50s. What kind of actor would Kim Joo-hyuk in his mid-50s be?”
Kim Joo-hyuk died on October 30, 2017, in a traffic accident in Samseong-dong, in Seoul’s Gangnam district. He was 45 years old. The timeline behind this week’s tribute therefore runs from the grave visit on October 29, through the ninth anniversary itself on October 30, to the Spotv News report on October 31 that brought the CEO’s personal post to wider attention.
That sequence matters because the tribute was not tied to a new project, award, or memorial event. It was a personal remembrance from the head of the agency that represented the late actor, shared at the moment when colleagues and fans traditionally mark the anniversary. The flowers at the grave, the drive filled with stories about his work, and the question about the actor he might have become in his mid-50s together frame the anniversary as a moment of reflection rather than a formal commemoration. No new memorial event was mentioned in the report.
