Choi Bool-am, who stood by children for 41 years, will make his final journey with ChildFund Korea

[Financial News]“It is inconceivable that I alone should be happy; we must see children as another ‘self.’”
These were words actor Choi Bool-am shared at a 2015 ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of his tenure as chair of ChildFund Korea’s National Sponsorship Council. The late Choi, who served as chair for 41 years and helped children in Korea and abroad, will make his final journey with ChildFund Korea.
On the 30th, ChildFund Korea, an organization specializing in child welfare, said Choi Bool-am died at 10:30 p.m. on the 29th. He was 86. The funeral will be held as a ChildFund Korea Children’s Foundation-organized funeral, with ChildFund Korea Chair Hwang Young-gi serving as chair of the funeral committee. ChildFund Korea said it would honor Choi’s legacy of not only directly helping children but also raising awareness of the need for child welfare and encouraging society to join in.■ Sharing that began with ‘Country Diaries’The bond between Choi and ChildFund Korea began in 1981 with the drama ‘Country Diaries.’ The catalyst was a storyline in which Chairman Kim adopted Geumdong-i. At the urging of the late Kim Seok-san, then secretary-general of the Children’s Foundation and a former chair, Choi began supporting the cause, and fellow actors joined in.
Choi continued group sponsorships with the casts of ‘Country Diaries’ and ‘Ordinary People.’ After being appointed chair of the National Sponsorship Council in 1985, he visited child welfare sites on behalf of 600,000 donors and encouraged others to take part in sponsorship.
From 1994, he visited the Americas and Europe to help establish overseas sponsorship councils. ChildFund Korea said that, building on Choi’s work, it developed a network of 25 overseas sponsorship councils in eight countries.
He visited Ethiopia in 2007, Uganda in 2014 and Kenya in 2015, among other countries, and met children facing hunger and disease. Even in old age, he went to the field himself to raise awareness of the difficulties children faced and build support for helping children overseas.
Broadcasting and the stage were also ways to promote sharing. In 2015, Choi donated his talents to a public-service ad for ‘Adult’s Day’ and appeared on KBS’s ‘Hope Road Expedition’ to appeal for support for children. He also took part in charitable efforts through the play ‘See You Again.’
In 2012, he founded the incorporated association Zero Camp to help youth in crisis and out-of-school youth regain their self-esteem and grow into members of society. He prepared and staged musicals with juvenile inmates, conveying a message of empathy and support.
■ A final farewell with a foundation-organized funeralAt the 2015 ceremony, Choi compared genuine service to ‘getting caught in the rain together,’ saying, “What people need most is other people.”
During his lifetime, he told those around him that they should be sure to stop by the foundation when he passed away. Accordingly, after the funeral procession and before heading to the burial site, a stop is planned at ChildFund Korea’s headquarters in Mugyo-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.
The funeral committee will include former Prime Ministers Lee Soo-sung and Lee Nak-yeon, ChildFund Korea CEO Yang Ok-kyung, and executives of the National Sponsorship Council, among others. The funeral of the late donor Kim Woo-soo, known in 2011 as the ‘delivery-bag donation angel,’ was also held as a ChildFund Korea Children’s Foundation-organized funeral. Choi served as chief mourner at the time.
Chair Hwang Young-gi recalled that Choi had portrayed the joys and sorrows of life through his acting while always thinking first of people on the margins. He paid tribute to Choi, saying, “Even on broadcasts, he would often say, ‘It is an adult’s role to give children hope,’ and he never let go of his love for children, right up to the end.”
The wake is being held in Room 20 of the funeral hall at Asan Medical Center. A separate memorial space is also scheduled to be set up on the first floor of the ChildFund Korea Children’s Foundation Building. The funeral procession will depart at 7 a.m. on November 2, and the burial site is Donghwa Gyeongmo Park.

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