Park Sul-nyeo: “I’ve been preparing Choi Bool-am’s shroud for a year... a natural-born actor who loved nature”

[Financial News] Hanbok designer Park Sul-nyeo said she had been preparing a shroud for the late Choi Bool-am since about a year ago. Their connection, which began when she made hanbok he had loved during his lifetime, led to her preparing his final clothes.
On the morning of the 30th, Park visited the late actor’s wake at the funeral hall of Asan Medical Center in Seoul’s Songpa District to pay her final respects, then delivered mourning clothes for his wife to wear.
After receiving a call the previous day from the deceased’s wife, actress Kim Min-ja, Park told reporters that day, “I had a dopo made from the time I heard that he had back pain and was going to have surgery. It’s been almost a year since I made garments such as baji-jeogori.” After struggling to get around following surgery for a herniated disk in March last year, the late actor stepped down from KBS1 TV’s current affairs and culture program ‘Korean Cuisine and Dining,’ which he had led for 14 years since 2011.
She explained, “About two or three weeks ago, his wife called and asked me to start preparing in earnest because his condition wasn’t good. After that, I prepared accessories such as a bokgeon, a cap worn on the head.” With the washing and shrouding ceremony scheduled for the 1st, she said she also needed to prepare hand coverings, beoseon socks, a blanket and other items for the deceased to wear, and would finish the remaining work and deliver them later.


In Park Sul-nyeo’s memory, Choi Bool-am was someone who cherished natural, old-fashioned style over flashiness. She recalled once preparing bright white clothes for a hanbok sponsorship, only to find that the late actor wanted a yellowish, natural hue. He liked the natural colors of fibers such as undyed silk, ramie, hemp and cotton. She remembered him as “a gentleman who loved old-fashioned things” and “someone who loved nature.”
She also recalled the late actor’s unpretentious laugh. “He touched many people across the country,” she said, remembering the warmth and down-to-earth nature behind his hearty laughter. She added that he was “truly a natural-born actor” and that she herself had been a viewer who greatly enjoyed ‘Korean Cuisine and Dining.’
Park Sul-nyeo also said she felt reassured seeing the deceased’s wife calmly remain by his side despite her grief. “I think he’s gone to heaven and will be at peace now,” she said. “Anyone can see that he must have gone to a very good place.”
The late actor moved to the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) to appear in dramas after falling in love at first sight with Kim Min-ja, who appeared in the KBS drama ‘Jeongdong Mamanim.’ The two continued their relationship by appearing together in plays such as ‘Hwanjeolgi’ (1968), and married in 1970 after dating for four years. They had a son and a daughter.
Choi Bool-am, known as the nation’s father, 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. He had difficulty getting around after undergoing surgery for a herniated disk in March last year and focused on rehabilitation, but his health reportedly deteriorated sharply recently.

[email protected] Shin Jin-a Reporter