Voice actress Kang Hee-sun (64), who has voiced Shin-chan's mom, Bong Mi-sun, in 'Crayon Shin-chan' for 26 years, is stepping down.
Tooniverse announced on its official SNS on the 1st, “Notice of voice actor change for 'Crayon Shin-chan'.” It continued, “Due to personal circumstances of voice actress Kang Hee-sun, who has played Shin-chan's mom and Mang-gu for a long time, the roles have been changed to So-yeon for Shin-chan's mom and Jung Yoo-jung for Mang-gu.”
Kang Hee-sun has voiced Bong Mi-sun and Mang-gu since the TV version of the animation first aired on SBS in 1999.
Kang Hee-sun, who has participated in the series for 26 years, drew attention when her name was missing from the cast list of 'Crayon Shin-chan 25', released on the 25th of last month. The exact reason for her departure has not been disclosed, but netizens speculate it is due to health issues.
Kang Hee-sun previously appeared on a YouTube channel in 2023 and revealed that she was diagnosed with colon cancer during a health check-up in March 2021, and it had already metastasized to the liver with 17 lesions confirmed, which caused great concern. She explained, “At first, they told me, ‘You’ll live for 2 more years.’”
Additionally, she appeared on tvN's entertainment program 'You Quiz on the Block' last April, reflecting on her battle with colon cancer, stating, “I have undergone chemotherapy 47 times. I had three surgeries on my liver and removed 65%.” She added, “I am continuously being monitored. I went for a check-up recently, and they said it was clean,” receiving congratulations.
At that time, Kang Hee-sun said, “Shin-chan's mom really goes through a lot. I think she will live longer than me. She is still 28 years old.” She also mentioned, “After the surgery, I recorded 'Shin-chan the Movie,' and I think I couldn’t get up for four days after recording for over 14 hours,” expressing her affection and sense of responsibility for the character.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
