The funeral procession for veteran actor Choi Bool-am will stop at ChildFund Korea’s headquarters in Seoul before heading to his burial ground, honoring a final wish he left behind, Sports Chosun reported on October 30, citing his family.
Choi died late on October 29 at a hospital in Seoul’s Gangseo District at the age of 87, while receiving treatment. His body was moved at around 12:20 a.m. the same night to the funeral hall set up at Seoul Asan Hospital in Songpa District, where mourners have been paying their respects since October 30.
Unlike a typical celebrity funeral, Choi’s funeral is being conducted as a ChildFund Korea funeral, reflecting a charity commitment that shaped much of his public life. According to the report, Choi had told those around him that when he died, he wanted the procession to stop at ChildFund Korea on its way to the burial ground. The procession will therefore visit the foundation’s headquarters in Mugyo-dong, central Seoul, after the funeral service and before burial.
The funeral service will be held at 7 a.m. on November 2. A memorial Mass will take place the same day at Yeouido Catholic Church in Yeongdeungpo District, and Choi will be laid to rest at Donghwa Memorial Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
Choi’s connection to ChildFund Korea goes back 41 years. It began during the filming of the long-running drama “Country Diaries” in 1981, when his encounters with the child actors on set led him and fellow cast members to start group sponsorship for children. He was appointed ChildFund Korea’s national sponsorship chairman in 1985 and spent the following decades working for child welfare at home and abroad. Sports Chosun reports that he often stressed that giving children hope is the role of adults, a belief he held to the very end.
Best known to generations of viewers as the star of the classic police drama “Chief Investigator,” Choi remained one of Korean television’s most familiar faces for more than half a century. The planned stop at ChildFund Korea’s headquarters turns his final journey into one last expression of the cause he supported for 41 years, giving fans and the children he championed a final place to say goodbye.
