O Mi-ran
O Mi-ran | |
|---|---|
오미란 | |
 O Mi-ran holding the trophy of Best Actress, 1987 | |
| Born | 28 August 1954 Chung-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Died | 27 June 2006 (aged 51) |
| Alma mater | National Theater Company Actors' Training Institute |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Notable work |
|
| Spouse | Unknown (m. 1982) |
| Awards | Pyongyang International Film Festival Award for Best Actress (1987 and 1990) Merited Artiste (1983) People's Artiste (1987) |
O Mi-ran (Korean: 오미란; 28 August 1954 – 27 June 2006) was a North Korean actress. Originally a dancer at the Pyongyang Art Troupe (now the Mansudae Art Troupe), she started acting in 1979, appearing in films like A Broad Bellflower and The Nation and Destiny, winning the Best Acting Award at the 1st and 2nd Pyongyang International Film Festival, and gaining a national reputation as a cinema star.
Biography
She was born on 28 August 1954 in Ot'an-dong in Chung-guyok, Pyongyang.[1] Her father O Hyang-mun was an actor from Jeongok-eup, a town in Yeoncheon County (now in South Korea), with a North Korean defector connected to the cinema of North Korea informing Yonhap News Agency that the younger O had originally suffered prejudice due to her South Korean ancestry.[2] She also had several siblings, including actress O Gum-ran.[3]
After she was educated at the National Theater Company Actors' Training Institute,[1] she joined the Pyongyang Art Troupe (now the Mansudae Art Troupe) as a dancer in 1972.[3][4] Afterwards, she joined the April 25 Film Studio in 1979 and started working in acting, with her debut in Gun Salute (1980).[1] She later starred as Song Rim in the 1987 film A Broad Bellflower and appeared in the 1990 film Traces of Life, for which she won the Best Acting Award at the 1st and 2nd Pyongyang International Film Festival, respectively.[3][1] She also appeared in the films Morning Star (1983), A Life Full of Ups and Downs (1989-1990), The Nation and Destiny (1999-2000), and Their Life Continues (2002).[3][4][1] In 1990, she won Best Korean Actress in 1st New York Inter-Korean Film Festival.[3]
Following the start of her film career, she subsequently became well known as a film star in the country,[5] and she reportedly had as much monthly living expenses as the average North Korean general.[6] She was named Merited Artiste in 1984 and People's Artiste in 1987.[1] Yonhap News Agency called her "North Korea's top actress",[3] with the Choson Film Yearbook calling her "a comrade who kindly guides the audience to the film world by her elegant and delicate expression, clear voice, and passion."[4][3] Outside of the country, North Korean defectors consider her "the first North Korean star.[1]
She was married to a painter since 1982.[1] In 2007, Bradley K. Martin said that she was rumoured in the Pyongyang elite to have been among the mistresses kept by Kim Jong-il.[7] O Mi-ran died on 27 June 2006 from breast cancer; she was 52.[1][3] She was interred at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery,[4] with Kim Jong Il himself giving her grave a wreath in her memory.[3]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Gun Salute | [3] | |
| 1982 | Notes of a War Correspondent | Hye Kyong | [1] |
| 1983 | Morning Star | Yong Hui | [4] |
| 1983 | Following the Traces | Line Girl | [8] |
| 1984 | Miles Along the Railway | Jong Hui | [1] |
| 1984 | In Their Noble Image | So Jin A | [1] |
| 1984 | Youth in the Shellfire | Pun Hui | [1] |
| 1986 | The Birth of a New Government Part 1, 2 | Ryong Mae | [1] |
| 1986 | On Unforgettable Days | Son Nyo | [1] |
| 1987 | A Broad Bellflower | Song Rim | [1] |
| 1987 | Chief of the Military Safety Department | [1] | |
| 1987 | Revolutionary Soldier | [8] | |
| 1988 | Rights of Life | Po Kum | [8] |
| 1989 | Traces of Life | So Jin Ju | [3] |
| 1989-1990 | A Life Full of Ups and Downs Part 1-4 | Rim So Yong | [1][4] |
| 1991 | Musician Jong Ryul Song Part 1, 2 | Jong Sol Song | [1] |
| 1992 | Nation and Destiny Part 9-10: Cha Hong Gi | Hong Yong Ja | [1] |
| 1992 | Nation and Destiny Part 11-13: Hong Yong Ja | Hong Yong Ja | [1] |
| 1994 | My Mother Was a Hunter | [8] | |
| 1998 | Bloostained Mark | [8] | |
| 1999-2000 | Nation and Destiny Part 46-51: Choe Hyon | Sol Ran | [8] |
| 2002 | Their Life Continues | So Jin Ju | [1][4] |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Lee, Myeong-ja. "오미란". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Academy of Korean Studies. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Choi, Cheok-ho (11 March 2003). "북 최고배우 오미란의 본향은 경기도". Tongil News (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "북 최고 여배우 오미란씨 사망". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 28 June 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Six Famous North Korean Women". Koryo Tours. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Gabroussenko, Tatiana (12 August 2016). "The unlikely romantic: how Kim Jong-il introduced love to North Korean cinema". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Understanding North Korea (PDF). Ministry of Unification Institute for Unification Education. 2014. p. 380.
- ^ Martin, Bradley K. (2007). Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. Macmillan. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-4299-0699-9.
- ^ a b c d e f Joinau, Benjamin (2024). "North Korean Feature Films Database". Retrieved 12 December 2024.
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