Kim Hye-soo pays her respects; J-Hope sends a wreath... Tributes pour in at late Choi Bool-am’s wake

[Financial News] On the 30th, the first day of visits to the wake of the late actor Choi Bool-am (real name: Choi Young-han), people from the entertainment industry, police and other sectors expressed their condolences.
That afternoon, actor Kim Hye-soo visited the wake at the funeral hall of Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, to pay her respects. J-Hope of the group BTS also sent a wreath to honor the deceased on his final journey.
Kim Hye-soo had a close relationship with Choi Bool-am and his wife, Kim Min-ja, during his lifetime. For a 2021 special marking the 10th anniversary of KBS 1TV’s Korean Cuisine and Dining, she prepared a meal for him together with Kim Min-ja. Video messages from fellow entertainers gathered by Kim Hye-soo were also shown.
Acting Korean National Police Agency chief Kim Jong-cheol also visited the wake with his entourage that afternoon to pay his respects. The late actor maintained ties with the police for more than half a century after being appointed an honorary police officer following his appearance in the drama Chief Detective.
In MBC’s Chief Detective, which first aired in 1971, the late actor played Chief Park Young-han. The following year, he was appointed an honorary senior inspector. After several promotions, in 2024 he became the first civilian to attain the honorary rank of chief superintendent general and was appointed honorary head of the National Office of Investigation.
The late actor also took part in police-related documentaries and campaigns outside of his acting work. He appeared in and narrated the 2021 documentary 50 Years of the Police Through Choi Bool-am’s Eyes, and in 2023 became the first participant in the NO EXIT campaign to eradicate drugs.
Choi Bool-am began his acting career in 1959 with the play Hamlet and was hired by KBS as a specially recruited actor in 1967. After Chief Detective, he was loved by viewers for many years as Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in Country Diaries. His warm fatherly presence on screen and distinctive laugh led audiences to remember him as “the nation’s father.”
From 2011 through last year, he hosted Korean Cuisine and Dining, sharing the food and lives of people from across the country. During his lifetime, he served as chair of Green Umbrella’s National Supporters’ Association and devoted himself to charitable work for children in Korea and abroad.
The late actor died on the 29th while receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. He was 87. His funeral will be held over five days under the auspices of the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation.
The funeral procession is scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. on November 2. The funeral Mass will be held the same day at Yeouido Catholic Church in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, and his final resting place will be Donghwa Gyeongmo Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
[email protected] Shin Jin-a, Jang In-seo Reporter