Late actress Barbie Hsu’s statue unveiled on her first death anniversary

Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu’s South Korean husband DJ Koo has designed a statue in memory of her a year after her death.

Hsu, whose full name was Hsu Hsi-yuan and who was better known by her stage name Big S,

died at the age of 48

on Feb 2, 2025, from pneumonia after contracting influenza during a family trip to Japan.

Koo, whose full name is Koo Jun-yup, unveiled the statue on Feb 2 in the celebrity section of Chin Pao San Cemetery in New Taipei, where the late actress’ grave is located.

Among those who attended the ceremony in the rain were Hsu’s mother Huang Chun-mei; Hsu’s sister, TV host Dee Hsu; Dee Hsu’s husband Mike Hsu; TV host Kevin Tsai, who co-hosted the talk show Mr Con And Ms Csi (2004 to 2016) with Dee Hsu; actors Jerry Yan and Vic Chou, Barbie Hsu’s co-stars in the idol drama Meteor Garden (2001 to 2002); singers Rainie Yang and Show Lo; as well as TV host Blackie Chen and his wife, singer Christine Fan.

South Korean musicians Kang Won-rae of K-pop duo Clon – Koo is the other member – and Choi Si-won of boy band Super Junior were also present.

Huang embraced the statue and wept when it was unveiled, while Dee Hsu delivered her speech in tears and said fans who missed her sister are welcome to visit the statue.

Barbie Hsu’s memorial statue is titled Eternal Orbit Of Hsi-Yuan.

“This is a universe created for Hsi-yuan,” according to the Chinese-language inscription. “Nine cubes, like planets, revolve around Hsi-yuan – they are both Koo’s core creative symbol and a life of artistic support and tender care. ‘Nine’ in Korean sounds like ‘Koo’, Hsi-yuan’s most cherished number and an irreplaceable secret code between them.

“The southern direction at 208 degrees she gazes upon connects Taipei, her family and the place of her love; it also marks Feb 8 – the day love was fulfilled and extended into eternity.”

Hsu and Koo registered their marriage in South Korea on Feb 8, 2022, before he travelled to Taiwan the following month to

register their marriage there

.

The couple had previously dated in secret for a year before breaking up around 2000 due to the no-dating rule imposed by Koo’s then agency. They did not see each other again until after

Hsu’s divorce from Chinese businessman Wang Xiaofei

in November 2021.

Koo, 56, posted on Instagram late on Feb 2 a video of the statue’s creation process and unveiling ceremony.

Koo, along with a Taiwanese art production team, spent months working on the project before completing the statue using stainless steel and brass. The entire installation covers an area of ​​about 72 sq m, with the main sculpture standing about 3.3m tall.

He mentioned in the video that the reason for creating the memorial statue was that he wanted to keep Hsu close to everyone. The design of the statue reflects how Hsu often told him she was an alien from another planet, so he wanted to create a galaxy for her.

Koo also uploaded to Instagram a handwritten letter to Hsu, in which he said he still misses her.