90-Year-Old Veteran Actor Gives The Most Emotional Speech At The “2024 KBS Drama Awards”
At the “2024 KBS Drama Awards,” where KBS celebrated another wonderful year of K-Drama production, veteran actor Lee Soon Jae took home a meaningful award with Dog Knows Everything.
In Dog Knows Everything, a unique K-Drama celebrated for its senior cast, the 90-year-old actor portrayed a disgraced celebrity who could hear a dog. Boasting his chemistry with Sophie the dog, played by Ari the labrador retriever, Lee Soon Jae received a tremendous amount of love for his quirky character.
And for this role, Lee Soon Jae won his first-ever Daesang at a “Drama Awards” on January 11, 2025 (KST)!
Having recovered from a recent health scare, Lee Soon Jae needed help getting on the stage. But in front of the mic, he showed the audience the exact reason that he has survived all this time in the business.
Making history as the oldest active entertainer and actor in South Korea and a living witness to the history of Korean broadcasting, Lee Soon Jae became understandably emotional during his acceptance speech.
I guess if you live long enough, you get to see days like this, too…
…Today, I am honored to receive this beautiful and precious award. I know that, usually, Daesang is more often associated with big and historical roles—and so I never expected to be awarded like this.
I believe acting should be evaluated based on acting itself, not popularity or other factors. I know that I did not win this award alone. A lot of people came together for Dog Knows Everything. Each person worked hard in their positions, which made this award possible.
— Lee Soon Jae
Watching the giant tearing up as he thanked his production team, fans, and his students that he teaches at college for rooting for him, his countless hoobae actors in the audience also couldn’t hide how overwhelming the speech was.
I would also like to express my gratitude to some people… I am currently serving as a professor at Gachon University for 13 years. I’ve been teaching students by assigning them plays to rehearse for an entire semester, and they perform it at the end of the term. Due to my personal filming schedules, there were times when I couldn’t be present with my students. I felt terribly sorry about that. But then my students told me, ‘Don’t worry, Professor! Do well on your drama, we’ll follow in your footsteps and perform well, too.’ When I heard that, I was moved to tears. I have so much faith in those students, and I know that our shared efforts have led to today’s result. So, thank you.
Finally, I’d like to thank the KBS production team, especially Producer Lee Yong Soo, for their hard work. There were many difficulties with this show, but in the end, we overcame them, and it was able to reach a national audience.
I also want to thank the audience who are watching here and from home tonight. I know well that I’ve received a lot of help and support throughout my life. Thank you so much.
— Lee Soon Jae
Lee Soon Jae’s acceptance speech isn’t the only one that created a lot of buzz at the “2024 KBS Drama Awards.”
Read more about actor Kim Jung Hyun‘s acceptance speech here:
Actor Kim Jung Hyun’s Hotly-Debated “Apology” Finally Airs—Here’s What He Actually Said
