South Korean television director Ahn Pan-seok, known for acclaimed dramas including White Tower, Secret Affair, and Something in the Rain, died on August 12 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 65.
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Ahn received hospital treatment after suffering the hemorrhage. His condition later deteriorated, and he died while receiving medical care, according to reports from South Korea’s entertainment industry.
Ahn built a career spanning nearly four decades and became one of South Korea’s prominent television directors. He joined MBC in 1987 and began his career in television production before establishing himself as a director.
His credits included White Tower, The Wife’s Qualification, Secret Affair, Heard It Through the Grapevine, Something in the Rain, One Spring Night, The Midnight Romance in Hagwon, and The Art of Negotiation.
Ahn Pan-seok Was Most Known For ‘White Tower’
White Tower, which aired in 2007, became one of his best-known productions. The drama portrayed competition and power struggles within a university hospital. Ahn received a Baeksang Arts Award for television directing for the series.
Ahn also worked in film. He directed South of the Border, a 2006 movie starring Cha Seung-won, marking his work as a feature-film director.
He continued directing television dramas throughout the following years. His productions often explored relationships, professional pressures and conflicts between individuals and society.
Ahn’s final project was the ENA drama Romance Doctor, starring Choo Young-woo and Kim So-hyun. Production had finished before his death, and the series had completed editing. The broadcaster planned to air the drama in October as scheduled.
His later dramas, particularly Something in the Rain and One Spring Night, reached audiences outside South Korea and strengthened his reputation among international viewers of Korean television.
Ahn’s career connected several generations of Korean drama. He continued directing as the industry moved from traditional broadcast television toward a broader media landscape with new networks and streaming services.
His death ends a directing career that lasted almost 40 years. His final completed drama will now mark the last television project of a director whose work helped shape South Korean television drama across several decades.