85-year-old Kim Hye-ja appears on red carpet supported, coughing continuously

Actress Kim Hye-ja showed her unchanging presence by appearing on the film festival red carpet even at the age of 85. However, fans' concerns continued as she was captured receiving assistance from those around her during movement and coughing several times. For the national actress who has stood before the camera for 65 years, views of her current self are a mix of joy and worry.

Kim Hye-ja attended the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the 31st Busan International Film Festival held at the Busan Cinema Center on the 6th. Walking the red carpet alongside director Song Il-gon, with whom she worked on the film 'Still Shining', Kim Hye-ja appeared in a hanbok with subtle colors, revealing her characteristic elegant and graceful atmosphere. In her appearance of smiling brightly toward the camera and waving her hand, one could feel the composure of an actress who has been loved by the public for a long time.

However, when moving, she took slow steps while receiving help from those around her. On-site video also captured Kim Hye-ja coughing several times while covering her mouth with her hand. Considering her age of 85, it is a natural reaction for fans to worry about her health. However, one cannot conclude her health status or the cause of the coughing based solely on the released scenes. The important thing is to view the current appearance of an actress who has continued her activities for a long time as it is, rather than speculating on her health status based on specific scenes.

Kim Hye-ja's recent activities drew even more interest because she met viewers just two days ago through a documentary bearing her own name. The SBS special documentary 'Kim Hye-ja's Regards – Don't Die', broadcast on the 4th, highlighted the life of Kim Hye-ja, who turned 85 this year, her 65-year acting career, and her long-standing time of sharing.

In particular, this work is not a record completed in a short period. Starting planning in 2024, it captured her time over approximately three years, including Kim Hye-ja's last volunteer activities in Africa in 2025 and the filming site of the movie 'Still Shining' in 2026. It is meaningful in that it does not record only an actress's heyday, but captures the image of a human being who continues life and acting in her own way as time passes.

The documentary title 'Don't Die' does not mean Kim Hye-ja's health status. This is an expression derived from the message that Kim Hye-ja has conveyed through her long-term activities in Africa and her acting. It is closer to the meaning of caring for each other and finding hope even in a reality where pain and deficiency exist. It is also known that Kim Hye-ja told the production team not to make her a hero, but to use her to deliver hope to people.

This attitude is also connected to the acting career Kim Hye-ja has walked. Kim Hye-ja has long been called by the modifier 'national actress', but what is important in her career is the breadth of her acting that has changed along with the era, rather than the fame itself. Starting as a young actress in her 20s, passing through middle-aged and elderly characters, she has now reached a stage where she projects the lives of characters in works onto her actual age and time. Age can be a limit to an actress's activities, but at the same time, it is an asset that creates experience and depth that no one else can replace.

In that sense, her return to the screen after 9 years, 'Still Shining', also holds more meaning than a simple comeback work. In the film, Kim Hye-ja plays the role of Sun-ok, who meets her best friend, who shared her most brilliant moments in life, again after 60 years. The setting where a person who has passed through long years faces past connections again seems strangely to overlap with the current of Kim Hye-ja, who has actually lived through countless times.

Like the title of the movie, 'brilliance' does not necessarily exist only in youth or a glamorous heyday. Remembering passed times, looking back at lost relationships, and the present, where one can meet someone again despite everything, can also be sufficiently brilliant. In that Kim Hye-ja acts as a character with the weight of time similar to her actual age, this work is likely to leave another meaning in her filmography.

The scene of coughing on the red carpet and receiving help from those around her is just one scene showing the current state of an actress who has been active for a long time. Rather than contrasting her past glamorous appearance with the present based on that scene, it is necessary to focus on the fact itself that she visits the film festival site and presents a new work even at the age of 85.

Kim Hye-ja's return to the screen after 9 years, 'Still Shining', opens on the 21st. Interest is focused on how the actress, who has acted out numerous lives for 65 years, has captured the story of a time closest to her own age on the screen. Kim Hye-ja is expected to show once again through the screen that life continues even where youth has passed, and there are expressions that only those who have lived through that time can show.

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