Actor Choi Bool-am Dies at 87 as Tributes Recall a National Father Figure

Actor Choi Bool-am, widely known as a national father figure, died at the age of 87, prompting tributes from cultural figures and local officials. Across a 67-year career on stage and screen, he portrayed figures linked to modern Korean history and maintained a particularly close connection with Gangwon Province through television work on regional food, history and landscapes.

His mother’s tavern, Eunseong, was also associated with poet Park In-hwan and the origins of the widely known song “When the Years Pass.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Choi visited a multicultural children’s center in Siheung as a national supporter of the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation, an episode remembered alongside his performances and public service.