Jang Jin-Young Diagnosed with Gastric Cancer

Boy, not the kind of news one would like to write about.

Korean entertainment had a pretty rough 2008 so far, with car accidents (some, thankfully, not fatal), suicides and various injuries. It does happen every year, and for such a chaotic industry always moving at the speed of light and overworking its stars every day it's not even much of a surprise. Still, kind of shocking to hear Jang Jin-Young (34), one of the very best actresses in Korea and star of the marvelous 청연 (Blue Swallow), 소름 (Sorum) and countless more films and dramas has been diagnosed with gastric cancer. Sources close to the young actress revealed she went through a check-up last September 17 because of chronic stomach pain, but the results weren't the gastric ulcer (at worst) they were expecting. Jang is currently undergoing treatment at an hospital in Seoul, and her agency has revealed that for the time being she might not be able to appear anywhere (can you be more obvious? Eh).

Thankfully, they also revealed that she'll be able to recover after treatment (she'll undergo surgery very soon), as they probably found out about the cancer in its beginning stages. Jang's last appearance on TV was the maligned 2007 SBS drama 로비스트 (Lobbyist), whereas her last film was Kim Hae-Gon's 연애 그 참을 수 없는 가벼움 (Between Love & Hate). Can only wish a speedy recovery to her. We want to see you soon back on the screen.

[Sports Seoul] [Joongang]