South Korea has posthumously awarded veteran actor Choi Bool-am the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the country’s highest cultural honor, following his death at 87, as tributes continued to pour in at his funeral hall in Seoul.
According to Maeil Business News, mourners from across Korean public life visited the funeral hall at Seoul Asan Hospital on October 30, a day after Choi’s death was announced. Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok, who once faced Choi as an election rival in 1996, described him as a performer of national stature and said he would help carry on Choi’s work for young people.
Former culture minister Yoo In-chon, who played Choi’s on-screen son in the long-running drama “Country Diaries,” said he had always called Choi “father” in real life and was heartbroken by the news. Veteran actor Na Moon-hee also paid her respects, while hanbok designer Park Sool-nyeo said she had begun preparing Choi’s burial garments a year ago after hearing he was ill, completing them about three weeks ago at the request of his wife, actor Kim Min-ja.
President Lee Jae-myung also paid tribute on X on October 30. In his message, Lee said: “I express my deep condolences on the passing of national actor Choi Bool-am.” He added that he would remember Choi as the father figure who stood beside the Korean people for many years. The government conferred the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the first-class and highest grade of the cultural medal, on Choi posthumously.
Choi became a household name as detective Park Yeong-han in “Chief Investigator,” which ran from 1971 to 1989 across 880 episodes, and later as the patriarch in “Country Diaries,” which aired for 22 years. He also hosted KBS’s “Korean Table” for 14 years until stepping down in 2025, and returned to his signature role in the 2024 prequel “Chief Detective 1958.” He had previously received the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2014, making the posthumous Geumgwan honor a step above his earlier decoration.
Choi’s funeral is being held as a five-day ChildFund Korea funeral, reflecting more than 40 years of charity work with the organization, with the funeral procession scheduled for November 2.
