Family, fellow actors and members of the public paid their respects to Choi Bool-am in Seoul on November 2, Yonhap reported. A private funeral at Asan Medical Center was followed by a Mass in western Seoul and burial at a memorial park in Paju.
A day of farewell events
His wife, actor Kim Min-ja, attended with the bereaved family. Kim Hye-soo, who had stayed alongside them from the beginning of the funeral period, accompanied her. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the former archbishop of Seoul, presided over the Mass.
Guests included Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young, actor and former minister Yoo In-chon, Song Il-kook and Shin Hyun-joon. Yeom recalled Choi’s comforting screen presence and his place in public life.
The ChorogUsan for Children foundation held a separate farewell at its headquarters before the burial. Chairman Hwang Young-ki highlighted the actor’s decades of work supporting children and young people.
A long television legacy
Born Choi Young-han in Incheon in 1939, the actor died the previous Thursday while receiving hospital treatment, aged 87. November 2 therefore marks the funeral events rather than the date of death.
Across nearly seven decades, Choi became widely known as detective Park Young-han in Chief Inspector and the village foreman in Country Diaries. He was posthumously awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit the previous Friday.
Following the farewell, ChorogUsan pledged to continue his wish to protect children. That commitment carries forward his social work alongside the television, film and theatre career being remembered by colleagues and audiences.