Broadcaster Lee Sang-yong, who passed away on May 9 last year. Provided by Yongin Park Group

It has been one year since ‘Uncle Popeye’ Lee Sang-yong passed away.

The first-anniversary memorial for the late broadcaster Lee Sang-yong falls on the 9th. He passed away on May 9 last year at the age of 81.

He was an MC beloved by people of all ages, leading KBS 1TV’s ‘National Singing Contest’ and MBC’s ‘Stage of Friendship’, among others. He also founded the Korea Children Protection Association in 1973 and is known to have supported heart surgeries for 567 children with heart disease over 16 years.

The final resting place he chose is the natural burial ground at Yongin Park in Gyeonggi Province. During his lifetime, he visited in person, held consultations, and conveyed his wish, saying, “I would like to come here someday as well.” When he visited the Honor Stone to commemorate the late actor Kim Soo-mi, it is said that after looking around the burial sites set within nature, he kept this place in mind as his last resting spot.

Kim Dong-gyun, chairman of the Yongin Park Foundation, said, “Mr. Lee Sang-yong loved the public and the stage until the very end,” adding, “On this first anniversary, we hope that the warm stories and memories he left behind will be remembered in this space for a long time.”

At Yongin Park, alongside the late Lee Sang-yong, the late actors Yoon Suk-hwa, Kim Soo-mi, and Kang Soo-yeon, among others, are interred. As a space created through an eco-friendly natural burial method that honors the deceased amid nature, it continues to receive visits from bereaved families and fans.