“He was a zelkova whose shade spread wide”···‘National Father’ and ‘good elder’ Choi Bul-am to the heavens - 경향신문

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Actor Choi Bul-am (birth name Choi Young-han), called the ‘National Father’ as the representative father figure of Korea, has passed away. Aged 87. Yonhap News

Actor Choi Bul-am (birth name Choi Young-han), known as the ‘National Father,’ has left our side. Aged 87.

According to the bereaved family on the 30th, Choi passed away at around 10 p.m. the previous night while receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. After undergoing herniated disc surgery in March last year, he had difficulty moving, stepped down from KBS1 <Korean Dining Table>, and underwent rehabilitation, but his health reportedly deteriorated rapidly.

Born in 1939 (1940 in the family register), Choi was born in Jemulpo-gu, Incheon (then Dong-gu), and graduated from Seoul Jungang High School, Seorabol Arts College, and the Department of Theater and Film at Hanyang University. He dreamed of becoming a director but debuted in 1959 in the play <Hamlet> with the troupe ‘Experimental Theater Company’, and began earnest acting in 1965 as a member of the National Theater Company. He was then selected in 1967 as a 6th-cohort specially recruited TV actor by Seoul Central Broadcasting (now KBS). Over 67 years, he was active across film, TV drama, and theater.

Choi became a ‘national actor’ by making his name widely known as the chief ‘Park Young-han’ in MBC <Chief Inspector> (1971~1989), a forerunner of Korean-style crime investigation dramas that aired for 18 years. Chief Park Young-han looked into the underside of crimes brought on by rapid industrialization and urbanization, took to the field with colleagues, and showed a strong sense of justice and humanity. He repeatedly cited <Chief Inspector> as his ‘life's work’, saying it was “a project I worked hard on in my youth.”

In the MBC documentary <The Legend Returns: Chief Inspector>, produced to coincide with the 2024 broadcast of the prequel drama <Chief Inspector 1958>, he shared the behind-the-scenes story that “Mrs. Yuk Young-soo, after watching <Chief Inspector>, called and advised me to reduce smoking.” He then said he was careful in his conduct, saying, “If I do bad deeds, the people will follow.”

Actor Choi Bul-am (right) poses for a commemorative photo with the cast of the country's longest-running drama, ‘Country Diaries’. Yonhap News

In MBC <Country Diaries> (1980~2002), which aired for 22 years, he gave a passionate performance as ‘Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri’, rising to the ranks of the ‘National Father.’ In his 2007 essay <On the Old Line that Life Is a Play and Humans Are Actors> (Samteo), he wrote of Chairman Kim, “I wanted to show a father like a ‘zelkova with a broad shade’,” adding, “I wanted, at least in drama, to depict the figure of an adult who would lend courage and wisdom in matters big and small.” He took as his philosophy that an actor must show truth, saying, “An actor must stand in for the people living today.”

He did not stop transforming himself, such as playing the macho ‘Captain Park’ in MBC <You and I> (1997~1998), which recorded a final-episode rating of 67.6%, and the ponytailed cook ‘Oh Seong-geun’ in SBS <Gourmet> (2008). In an interview in the February 2006 issue of <Samteo>, he also conveyed his view that “An actor should be like a blank sheet.”

In the documentary <The Legend Returns: Chief Inspector>, he advised junior actors, “If there are thorns on the road the people must take, removing them is the spirit of the clown,” and, “Though you are actors, though you are clowns, add your strength to (to expose) social corruption, and see that good deeds are followed.” In 2008 he also said, “My creed is that ‘an actor must have social consciousness.’” The final line of <Chief Inspector> likewise expressed concern about social conflict arising from wealth gaps: “As buildings grow taller, shadows grow longer.”

At the recommendation of the late Chung Ju-young, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group, he briefly left broadcasting and stepped into politics. In 1992 he entered the 14th National Assembly as a proportional-representation member for the Unification National Party. In the 15th general election he ran as the New Korea Party candidate in Yeongdeungpo-gu Eul, Seoul, but was defeated, and thereafter focused on acting.

In an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun he said, “Going into the National Assembly was not greed but a promise. I stepped forward because I was asked for help and ended up becoming a lawmaker,” adding, “In a way, Chairman Chung Ju-young was like the acting teacher for Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri,” and, “I had great interest in education, but in any case the path of my life is acting.”

Actor Choi Bul-am (birth name Choi Young-han), called the ‘National Father’ as the representative father figure of Korea, has passed away. Aged 87. Yonhap News

The laugh that came with the sound “Paha~” was Choi Bul-am's signature. Many broadcasters mimicked his laugh as their personal party piece. The ‘Choi Bul-am Series’ featuring him also gained popularity among students in the 1990s. Drama critic Yoon Seok-jin, a professor at Chungnam National University, said, “The ‘Choi Bul-am Series’ could have been received as something that mocked the older generation as the new generation spread at the time,” adding, “Choi Bul-am did not become angry at being made an object of satire, but accepted it like a father.” Choi also allowed a publisher to put the ‘Choi Bul-am Series’ into a book.

He continued acting until the very end of his career, appearing in the play <When the Wind Blows and the Stars Tremble> (2018) and in his final work, the drama MBC <Chief Inspector 1958> (2024). He also hosted the current affairs and culture program KBS <Korean Dining Table> for 14 years. He was scheduled to appear in the two-part MBC documentary <Paha, This Is Choi Bul-am> that aired last May but declined due to health issues.

Professor Yoon Seok-jin said, “Even in <Chief Inspector>, Choi considered the backgrounds and motives of offenders and, seeing the underside of crime, delivered the message that ‘you should hate the sin but not the person’,” adding, “Rather than branding offenders, he showed the image of a father.” He also said, “(Choi) was a quintessential father figure who silently sacrificed himself amid industrialization and modernization, and a portrait of the times,” and “He was a generous actor who absorbed the flow and sentiments of the era.”

The late actor Choi Bul-am, who served as National Sponsorship Chair for 41 years at Green Umbrella and took the lead in sharing for marginalized children at home and abroad. Provided by the Green Umbrella Children Foundation

He also took the lead in volunteer and sponsorship activities for children. Appointed National Sponsorship Chair of the Green Umbrella Children Foundation in 1985, he continued volunteer work for 41 years. In the 1990s, when domestic support for child welfare was lacking, he visited North America and Europe to help form overseas sponsorship associations. Based on Choi Bul-am's efforts, 25 overseas sponsorship associations in 8 countries were established.

In 2007 he visited Ethiopia, in 2014 Uganda, and in 2015 Kenya to support children overseas. In 2012 he also founded the nonprofit Zero Camp to help restore the self-esteem and social reintegration of at-risk and out-of-school youth. Choi Bul-am expressed his sponsorship philosophy: “True service is not holding an umbrella for someone getting rained on, but getting rained on together.”

His funeral will be held as a ‘Green Umbrella Children Foundation funeral’. The funeral committee chair is Hwang Young-gi, chair of Green Umbrella. The wake is in Room 20 of the funeral hall at Asan Medical Center in Seoul. His surviving family are his wife Kim Min-ja, his son Choi Dong-nyeok, and his daughter Dong-bi. The service is at 7 a.m. on November 2.