Comedian Kim Sung-won loses mother while preparing for comedy festival

Comedian Kim Sung-won has lost his mother.

Kim's mother died Monday, according to Yonhap and other entertainment industry sources. She was 71.

A memorial altar has been set up in room No. 15 of the funeral hall at Samsung Medical Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The funeral procession is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, with burial to follow at Suwon Yeonhwajang crematorium and then Elysium.

Kim made his debut in 2009 as a 24th-class KBS open-recruitment comedian. He became widely known for the catchphrase "Korean is absolutely not hard~" from the "Good Morning Hangul" segment on KBS2's "Gag Concert."

He went on to appear in numerous "Gag Concert" segments, including "1 on 1," "2019 Lifestyle Dialect," "LA Sseurirang," "Guardians 7" and "Gajangjari." He carved out his own niche through English-based characters and a distinctive speaking style, and in 2011 won the rookie comedian award at the 19th Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards.

Kim had been set to perform in "Galgali Gag Concert: The Return of Legends" at the 14th Busan International Comedy Festival (BUCHAI), opening this month. The news of his mother's death reached him while he was deep in preparations for the show.