Popular actress Jang Jin-young died of stomach cancer yesterday aged 37 - a year after doctors had diagnosed her with the disease.
According to local media reports, Jang had returned to Korea early last month from the United States after undergoing therapy and had been recuperating from treatment since July.
But in recent months her condition worsened after experiencing a relapse and the "Blue Swallow" actress was checked into Seoul St. Mary`s hospital, where she died yesterday afternoon.
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All treatment was ended after doctors determined her condition had reached a point of no return.
Her family, her boyfriend, and members of her management team were at her side when she died.
According to Yedang Entertainment, Jang`s management company, "Until the last moment, she held onto the passion she had as an actress and that passion continued to burn without losing that beautiful smile," and added "the smile that she showed through her movies will never be forgotten and her passion for movies will always be remembered."
In September of last year, doctors at the Seoul National University Medical Center discovered the cancer during a medical check-up and since then she had undergone extensive chemotherapy and acupuncture to battle the disease.
With her condition improving earlier this year, Jang was seen attending a Kim Gun-mo concert in her hometown of Jeonju with her boyfriend.
The couple had been gaining media attention for their public relationship.
Jang and her boyfriend, the son of a former lawmaker, reportedly had been seeing each other since the beginning of 2008.
Even after she suggested they end their relationship when she was diagnosed with the disease, her boyfriend remained by her side until the very end.
Jang, a former beauty queen, began her career in acting in 1997 in a KBS television mini-series and made her silver screen debut in 1999 with "Jagwimo."
From there on, she starred in a string of high-profile box office hits starring alongside such leading actors as Song Gang-ho in "The Foul King."
(kws@heraldcorp.com)
By Song Woong-ki