lit a candle 3h agoMy sister called me from Mexico City last night just to tell me. We used to watch Doctor X together when I would visit, she always said the fight scenes looked more real than anything on the big American shows. Never knew her name until the credits started adding that little card. So strange to lose someone you watched for years without ever knowing who she was.
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Kim Hyeon-ee was a South Korean action actor and stuntwoman whose death in August 2026 became public only in October 2026, when two new television dramas closed their first episodes with tribute captions in her memory. SBS ran the line "We remember our precious colleague, the late Kim Hyeon-ee, who…
Kim Hyeon-ee was a South Korean action actor and stuntwoman whose death in August 2026 became public only in October 2026, when two new television dramas closed their first episodes with tribute captions in her memory. SBS ran the line "We remember our precious colleague, the late Kim Hyeon-ee, who ran alongside us" at the end of the premiere of "Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia" on 9 October, and tvN followed on 10 October with "We will not forget action actor the late Kim Hyeon-ee" at the end of the first episode of "100 Days of Lies". Viewers began asking who she was, and on 12 October OSEN confirmed that she had worked on both productions.
Kim trained in taekwondo from elementary school and went on to tour the world with the Korean national taekwondo demonstration team, promoting the sport abroad. She later taught children as an instructor at a taekwondo gym, and it was there that she discovered stunt work and chose the path of an action actor. Colleagues described her as one of the very best in her field; her team leader called her the top stuntwoman of her generation.
Her credits include the films "Dark Nuns", "Forbidden Fairytale", "Victory" and "Escape: Project Silence", and the drama "The Penthouse". She worked as a double for actresses including Ha Ji-won and Lee Si-young, and most recently appeared as the double for Gong Min-jung in the final episode of "New Recruit 4: Sabotage". Director Min Jin-ki of the "New Recruit" series was the first to honour her after her death, crediting her as martial arts director.
According to Park Ji-hye, head of the Mongdol Action stunt team, Kim died in a traffic accident in August 2026 while travelling to a shoot. Park remembered her as a generous senior who shared hard won know-how with newcomers rather than keeping it to herself, and who made sure younger performers could keep working and earn a living. She is remembered for her skill, her discipline and her kindness to the people around her. Her name now sits in the closing credits of the dramas she helped make, a quiet record of years spent taking the falls, fights and chases that brought other people's characters to life.
Biography adapted from OSEN via Chosun Biz (12 Oct 2026), Xportsnews (12 Oct 2026), Wikitree.
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1by People Forever
Same with 100 Days of Lies, I only found out after the finale card.