Comedian Kim Soo-yong opens up about heart attack

Comedian Kim Soo-yong recounted how he came close to death after collapsing from a heart attack during a YouTube shoot in November.

Comedian Kim Soo-yong appears on the tvN television variety series "You Quiz on the Block" on Dec. 10. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Comedian Kim Soo-yong recounted how he came close to death after collapsing from a heart attack during a YouTube shoot in November.

Kim appeared on Wednesday's episode of tvN’s television variety show "You Quiz on the Block" (2018-). He said he was preparing to join comedian Kim Sook and actor Lim Hyung-jun last month for a filming session at a site in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi, when he suddenly felt chest pain. He assumed it was muscle soreness and applied a pain relief patch.

As the pain worsened, he visited a clinic but only received medication for acid reflux. He said he returned to the filming site despite being advised to go to a larger hospital.

Kim recalled that he smoked a cigarette and greeted Lim before he clutched his chest and collapsed. He said he remembers nothing after that moment.

Kim Sook’s agent and Lim alternated performing CPR, and Kim Sook pulled the actor's tongue forward to keep his airway open.

“Hyung-jun happened to carry his angina medication in a necklace and gave me his emergency pill,” Kim said on the show. “That might have been what saved me."

Kim said he regained consciousness in an ambulance after 20 minutes.

“They said my heart didn’t return to a normal rhythm even after they used a defibrillator more than seven times,” Kim said. “If the heart doesn’t start again, they have to notify the police, so they had already reached that stage. The ambulance was headed for the morgue in Chuncheon, Gangwon, but the responders kept performing CPR on the way, and my consciousness came back.”

He said the ambulance then changed course to a hospital in Guri, Gyeonggi.

“I don’t remember clearly," Kim said about what he felt as he regained consciousness. "I first heard the siren in a muffled way, and the responders kept talking to me so I wouldn’t lose consciousness, asking things like my name. They said I asked, ‘Did I get into a car accident?’

“A sense of fear washed over me as my consciousness came back,” Kim said. “I thought a lot about life and death. If I had died, then it would have felt so empty. I was really lucky. I’m just grateful I woke up again.”

Kim began his entertainment career in 1991 after placing first in the KBS College Comedy Contest. He was initially signed under KBS, alongside Nam Hee-seok, Ji Seok-jin and Kim Yong-man.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JUNG SI-NAE [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]