The family of late veteran actor Choi Bool-am has reversed its plan to keep his funeral hall private and opened it to the public, SPOTV News reported on October 31.
The funeral hall was set up in Room 20 of the funeral hall at Seoul Asan Hospital in Seoul’s Songpa District on October 30. Inside, a black-and-white portrait of Choi, smiling gently, was placed beside the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, South Korea’s highest cultural honor, which was awarded to him posthumously.
Choi died late on October 29 at a hospital in Seoul’s Gangseo District while receiving treatment. He was 87. According to the report, his family had initially intended to keep the funeral hall closed to the public, but changed its mind and disclosed its interior, allowing the portrait and the medal to be seen.
The government conferred the Geumgwan Order on October 30 in recognition of Choi’s contribution to the development of Korean culture and the arts. Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young visited the funeral hall that afternoon to deliver the medal to the bereaved family. Choi had previously received the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit at the 2014 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards.
The funeral will be conducted as a ChildFund Korea funeral. The funeral procession is scheduled to depart at around 7 a.m. on November 2, after which a funeral Mass will be held at Yeouido Catholic Church in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District. Choi will then be laid to rest at Donghwa Gyeongmo Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
Choi made his debut in the play “Hamlet” in 1959 and worked across theater, television, film, and variety for 67 years. The ministry credited him with helping to lead the growth of Korean broadcast drama, notably as team leader Park Young-han in “Chief Investigator” and as Chairman Kim in “Country Diaries,” roles that made him a household name.
From 2011, he hosted the KBS1 program “Korean’s Table,” traveling across the country to introduce regional food and ordinary people’s lives. He also served as national sponsorship chairman of ChildFund Korea from 1985, championing support for children at home and abroad.
With the funeral hall now open, mourners can pay their respects ahead of the November 2 service, which will mark the final farewell to an actor long regarded as a national father figure in Korean entertainment.
