Actor Choi Bul-am, beloved as Korea's 'national father', dies at 86
Veteran Korean actor Choi Bul-am, known for roles in the police drama 'Investigation Team Leader' and the rural family drama 'Jeonwon Diary', has died at the age of 86, according to broadcasting industry sources.
Veteran Korean actor Choi Bul-am, long celebrated as the country's "national father" for his warm and dependable screen presence, has died at the age of 86. Broadcasting industry sources said he passed away on the 29th at about 10 p.m. at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where he had been receiving inpatient treatment. The news was reported by Dong-A Ilbo and echoed by several other Korean outlets that followed the story closely.
Choi had stepped away from acting after undergoing back surgery for a herniated disc last year. His mobility declined afterward, and his health was reported to have worsened in recent months, which ended his active work in front of the camera. Audiences remember him above all for his trademark laugh, a sound that gave his characters an unmistakable sense of warmth and humanity and became part of his public image across generations.
Born in Incheon, Choi, whose birth name was Choi Yeong-han, graduated from Seoul Joongang High School and then studied theater and film at Seorabeol Arts University and Hanyang University. He made his stage debut in 1959 with the play "Hamlet" at the Experimental Theatre Company. In 1965 he became a member of the National Theater Company of Korea, the step that marked the start of his professional acting career in earnest. Those early years on the stage shaped the disciplined craft that carried him into the decades that followed.
He entered television in 1967, when he was selected as an actor by Seoul Joongang Broadcasting, the predecessor of KBS. His career on the small screen expanded through a series of memorable roles. On MBC's police drama "Investigation Team Leader" he played Team Leader Park Young-han, a character that anchored the show and made him a household name. In the long-running farm family drama "Jeonwon Diary" he portrayed Chairman Kim, a figure of quiet authority and everyday decency. He also played Captain Park in "You and I". In his forties, he took on the role of former President Syngman Rhee in the historical dramas "The First Republic" and "The Second Republic", a demanding assignment that showed the range he brought to historical subjects.
Choi also worked actively in film, and his screen credits reached well beyond television. Across stage, broadcast and cinema, his long career made him one of the most familiar faces in Korean entertainment for several generations of viewers. Reports of his death drew wide attention from news outlets, with many of them recalling the roles and the laugh that defined his public persona.
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