Born in 1940 in South Chungcheong Province, the prolific actress appeared in around 700 films since making her screen debut in director Kim Ki-young's 1957 film "Twilight Train," with her career spanning from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Her personal life was as dramatic as her on-screen roles, with multiple high-profile marriages and divorces to prominent figures and top stars that often drew comparisons to Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor.
At the age of 18 in 1958, she married film director Hong Seong-gi, who was 16 years her senior, but the couple divorced in 1962. Later that year, she made headlines when she was arrested on adultery charges involving actor Choi Mu-ryong. She remarried him the following year, but their scandalous marriage also ended in 1969.
She later lived with then-popular singer Na Hoon-a from 1976 to 1982, before marrying a doctor in 1991 in her fourth and final marriage, which also ended some 11 years later.
After retiring from acting in the late 2000s, Kim moved to the U.S., settling near Los Angeles, California.
Details about her funeral service have not been disclosed, but the Federation of Korean Filmmakers here said it will hold a memorial service in Seoul, honoring her legacy and cinematic achievements in South Korean film history.
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