‘Neighborhood Friend’ Ok-hee Leaves Behind Her Love Story with Hong Su-hwan and Rests in Peace Today [Summary]

[Sportschosun, Baek Ji-eun] Singer Ok-hee will be laid to rest.

Her funeral procession will be held at 10 a.m. on the 24th at the funeral hall of Seoul Asan Hospital in Seoul.

A memorial service, hosted by the Korea Singers Association, chaired by Park Sang-cheol, will follow at 10 a.m. The service will be conducted in the form of a Christian worship service, with Park reading the eulogy and a director of the Korea Singers Association delivering a memorial address.

Born in 1953, Ok-hee debuted in 1968 as the leader of the five-member girl group Seoul Sisters and re-debuted as a solo singer in 1974 with "I Don't Know." She later cemented her place as an icon of the 1970s music scene with hit songs such as "Speak Only with Your Eyes" and "Neighborhood Friend."

Ok-hee was a pioneering figure who broke beyond Asia and performed in Las Vegas in the United States during the difficult conditions of the 1960s and 1970s, helping introduce the potential of K-pop to the U.S. mainland. Her bold and powerful vocals helped break the mold of the conventional female singer.

Ok-hee married boxer Hong Su-hwan in 1985 and stepped away from entertainment activities. The couple later went through the pain of divorce because of family issues, but reunited in 1992. Ok-hee returned as a singer in 2003, but was diagnosed with kidney cancer in February 2025. Even while battling the illness, she continued to release new songs and showed her passion for music, but died on June 20, 2026, at a hospital hospice ward in Suwon, surrounded by family including Hong Su-hwan. She was 72.

Baek Ji-eun, silk781220@sportschosun.com