Actor Song Jae-rim has passed away. He was 39 years old.

According to broadcasting sources on the 12th, he was found dead at his home in Seongdong-gu, Seoul that afternoon. The exact cause of death has not been released. The funeral will be held in Room 2 of the Catholic University of Korea‘s Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital funeral home. The funeral will be held at noon on the 14th. Surviving family members include his parents, younger sister, and brother-in-law. An official at the funeral home was tight-lipped, saying, “The bereaved family wishes to hold a quiet funeral.”

Song Jae-rim had been working as a model when he turned actor in the 2009 film ‘Actresses’. He rose to stardom in the 2012 MBC drama ‘The Moon Embracing the Sun’, playing the role of Kim Soo-hyun‘s bodyguard.

After that, he starred in various dramas such as ‘Pretty Boy Ramen Shop’, ‘Inspiring Generation: The Birth of a Fighter’, ‘Goodbye Mr. Black’, and gained great popularity with his tall appearance and gentle charm. He also showed off his quirky and bubbly side by appearing regularly on entertainment programs such as tvN’s ‘Home Cooking Master Baek’ and MBC‘s ‘We Got Married’.

This year, he has been actively acting, appearing in the tvING drama ‘Queen Woo’ and Rakuten Viki’s ‘Pita is a Romance’. He also debuted as a musical actor by performing on stage in the musical ‘Rose of Versailles’, which ended on the 13th of last month. His fellow actors and entertainment industry insiders were quite shocked by the sudden news of his death.

A broadcasting official explained, “After his exclusive contract with his former agency expired last year, he had been talking directly with the production team and expressed his will to continue his activities. The people around him are at a loss as to what to do with the sudden news (of death).”

Currently, Song Jae-rim‘s SNS account has the phrase, ‘The long journey begins’, and posts sharing his daily life up until last January remain, causing regret.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com