Veteran television actress known for supporting roles in Dae Jang Geum and My Name Is Kim Sam-soon
| Life | 1940 ~ 2009 |
| Era | 현대 |
| Clan | 함양 여씨 |
Yeo Woon-kay (1940-2009) was a South Korean television actress, classified by Wikipedia as of the Hamyang Yeo. She was born on 25 February 1940 in Bongdam-myeon, Suwon-gun (now Hwaseong), Gyeonggi, graduated from Muhak Girls' High School in 1958 and entered Korea University's Korean literature department. Namuwiki counts her as a 29th-generation Hamyang Yeo of the 'Un (運)' generation.
She passed the second KBS talent audition in 1962 and the first TBC audition in 1964, debuting in the drama 'Nuni narineunde'. She appeared in dramas including Dae Jang Geum, My Name Is Kim Sam-soon, War of Money, Oh! Feel Young and Jang Hwa, Hong Ryeon, and in films including Mapado, Mapado 2, Sunakjil yeosa and Late Autumn.
From 2001 to 2009 she was an entertainer member of the Ministry of Justice crime-prevention committee and also served as head of the Korea University Korean literature alumni association. She died on 22 May 2009, aged 69, at Incheon St. Mary's Hospital; it later became known that kidney cancer had spread to her lungs during her illness.
Debuting through broadcaster auditions in the early 1960s, she was among the performers active from the dawn of Korean television. In the 2000s she became widely known for roles as mothers, aunts and mothers-in-law in historical dramas and romantic comedies.
In film she is remembered for the talkative grandmother in the Mapado series, and she also took part in public service such as the crime-prevention committee. She is also known to have led her department's alumni association at Korea University for years.