Oh Se-hoon pays tribute to late Choi Bool-am: “The face of Seoul for so many years... we will remember you with one heart”

[Financial News] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed his condolences on the death of actor Choi Bool-am, who had served as Seoul’s longest-serving promotional ambassador.
Mayor Oh posted a message on Facebook on the 30th titled “A father to us all, Mr. Choi Bool-am,” saying, “Everyone in the Seoul family will remember with one heart the way you were the face of Seoul for so many years.”
He said, “His ties with Seoul were also special,” adding, “Since 1998, he had served alongside Seoul as its longest-serving promotional ambassador.” The late actor also attended a ceremony at Seoul City Hall on February 16, 2023, where he received a plaque of appreciation for his service as a Seoul promotional ambassador.
Mayor Oh also recalled the late actor’s appearances in dramas. He wrote, “Whenever we saw him on screen as Chief Park in ‘Chief Detective’ or Mr. Kim in ‘Country Diaries,’ he warmed our hearts, so his absence feels all the greater.”
He added, “His hearty laugh carried the image of our fathers, and his voice held the trials and sorrows of a generation that endured difficult times.”
He also paid tribute to Choi’s work sharing the lives of neighbors through food and helping children in need. Mayor Oh recalled, “For 14 years, he traveled across the country in search of humble meals and listened to the lives of ordinary neighbors. He never stopped reaching out to children in need, right up to the end.”
He added, “It is heartbreaking that we now have to meet in our memories the nation’s father, whom we thought would always be by our side.” He expressed his gratitude to the late actor and prayed for his repose.
The late actor died on the 29th, aged 87. He began acting in 1959 in the play ‘Hamlet’ and made his television debut in 1967 in the KBS drama ‘Suyang Daegun.’ He won nationwide affection for his roles as Chief Park Young-han in MBC’s ‘Chief Detective’ and Mr. Kim of Yangchon-ri in ‘Country Diaries.’
‘Chief Detective’ aired from 1971 to 1989, and ‘Country Diaries’ from 1980 to 2002. From 2011 through last year, the late actor hosted KBS 1TV’s ‘Korean Cuisine and Dining’ for 14 years, showcasing food and people’s lives from across the country.
Outside broadcasting, he worked to support children and young people as chair of Green Umbrella’s National Supporters’ Association and as chairman of the incorporated association Zero Camp. He took part in broadcasts to find missing children and help children with rare and incurable diseases, and supported juvenile inmates in their reintegration into society.
The funeral was arranged at the funeral home of Asan Medical Center. The funeral will be held as a Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation funeral, and the funeral procession is scheduled for November 2.

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