“Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri, rest in peace; eternal Chief Detective, rest in peace” ... Tributes pour in from all walks of life after Choi Bool-am’s death

[Financial News] Tributes poured in from all walks of life after actor Choi Bool-am, who for decades had graced television screens as the dependable Chief Park in Chief Detective and the beloved Chairman Kim in Country Diaries, died.
Popera tenor and Yongsan Foundation for Arts & Culture chairman Lim Hyung-joo wrote on his social media account on the 30th: “My dear and beloved Uncle Choi Bool-am. I can’t believe it. All I can do is cry.” He added, “I’m truly grateful that you were a warm father to so many people.”
He had been close to Choi Bool-am and his wife, Kim Min-ja. “I never knew that our greeting when I visited you in the hospital a few months ago would be our final goodbye,” he mourned. He added, “You always cherished my songs, and you always came to my recitals with Aunt Kim Min-ja. You were always so encouraging with your kind words, and I’m deeply grateful.”
Film director Shin Jeong-gyun, son of director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee, also looked back on his connection with the late actor. On Facebook, he remembered Choi Bool-am as “a warm actor who always had the image of a kind father, with his gentle smile.” He noted that Choi had appeared in Shin Sang-ok’s films Manjong and Naesi, and mourned him, writing, “I can still picture him coming to my mother’s funeral in 2018 with his wife, Mrs. Kim Min-ja, to share our grief.”
Politicians also expressed their condolences. Kim Mi-ae, a People Power Party lawmaker, wrote on her social media account: “I thought he would always be there as a kind father, but he has gone to heaven.” She added, “That generous embrace must have comforted many people.”
In a social media tribute, Democratic Party of Korea spokesperson Jeon Su-mi described Chief Park in Chief Detective as “our steadfast source of comfort” and Chairman Kim in Country Diaries as “the unchanging, generous embrace of home.” Recalling how he listened to his neighbors’ stories on Korean Cuisine and Dining, she wrote, “Mr. Choi Bool-am, who was such a wonderful father to us, thank you so much for all these years. You worked so hard.”

In viewers’ memories, too, the late actor was as close as family. One online user wrote, “Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri, rest in peace. You made an era of my life happy.” Another wished him eternal rest, writing, “May the eternal Chief Detective rest in peace.”
Choi Bool-am was beloved across generations for playing Chief Park Young-han in MBC’s Chief Detective and Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in Country Diaries, which aired for 22 years.
Tributes from people who said the late actor reminded them of their own fathers also drew attention. One Facebook user wrote, “When he smiled on screen, my heart softened before I knew it, and when he spoke in his low voice, it felt as if I were sitting beside my father long ago.” The user added, “I heard that someone had died, and suddenly I miss my father so desperately.”
People also shared memories of Korean Cuisine and Dining, the KBS 1TV program he hosted for 14 years, from 2011 through last year. Many said his voice, which brought food from across the country and the lives woven into it to viewers, had been a great comfort.
Online, people posted comments such as, “I watched Korean Cuisine and Dining so often, and my heart is breaking,” “Mr. Choi Bool-am’s voice in the narration brought me so much comfort,” and “I looked forward to hearing Choi Bool-am’s voice on Korean Cuisine and Dining, so I’m sad.”
According to people in the broadcasting industry on the 30th, the late actor died at around 10 p.m. on the 29th at a hospital in Seoul’s Gangseo District, where he had been receiving inpatient treatment. He was 87. After undergoing surgery for a herniated disc in March last year, he had difficulty getting around and stepped down from Korean Cuisine and Dining, the KBS 1TV current affairs and culture program he had hosted for 14 years since 2011. He later focused on rehabilitation, but his health is said to have deteriorated sharply recently.
Born in 1939 (1940 according to his family register), the late actor made his debut in 1959 in the play Hamlet. He began working in television dramas in 1967. Selected as an actor in the sixth cohort of special recruits at Seoul Central Broadcasting Station (now KBS), he played the elderly Kim Jong-seo in the drama Suyang Daegun. He was in his 20s at the time.
He later brought to life figures who would remain in the history of Korean drama, including Chief Park Young-han in MBC’s Chief Detective and Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in Country Diaries. For 67 years, he moved between dramas, films, and theater, sharing the public’s lives as a “national actor” and a “national father.”
With his distinctive warmth, he built wide-ranging connections not only in broadcasting but also with figures in politics and culture. He had a particularly close relationship with the late Chung Ju-yung, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group. At Chung’s urging, he briefly entered politics and served as a National Assembly member for the Unification National Party, which Chung founded. Their connection also found its way into his acting roles. In Yamangui 25si (1983), he played a young Chung Ju-yung; in Yeongung Sidae, he portrayed Cheon Tae-san, a character modeled on the honorary chairman in his youth.

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