'Paha~' The Nation's Father of Laughter... Actor Choi Bool-am of 'Homicide Detective' Passes Away at 87

The 'Nation's Father,' actor Choi Bool-am, has passed away. He was 87 years old. According to broadcasting industry sources, Choi Bool-am (real name Choi Young-han) passed away around 10 p.m. on the 29th at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, while receiving inpatient treatment.

After undergoing spinal disc surgery in March of last year, the late actor experienced mobility difficulties and withdrew from KBS 1TV's 'Korean Table' which he had hosted for 14 years since 2011. Although he subsequently devoted himself to rehabilitation, it was reported that his health deteriorated rapidly recently.

Born in Incheon in 1939, the late actor began his acting career with 'Hamlet' by the experimental theater group in 1959, became a member of the National Theater Company in 1965, and entered television through a special recruitment as a KBS talent in 1967. Over 67 years thereafter, he spanned theater, drama, and film, becoming the embodiment of the father figure in Korean popular culture itself. His two pillars were Captain Park Young-han in MBC's 'Homicide Detective' (1971-1989), a prototype of Korean detective dramas broadcast for 18 years, and Chairman Kim of Yangchon Village in 'Country Diary' (1980-2002), the longest-running domestic drama spanning 22 years.

He was a 'father' from the beginning. He debuted playing the elderly Kim Jong-seo in the drama 'Prince Suyang' in his twenties, took on elderly roles when he was thirty, and in his forties played the eighty-year-old former President Syngman Rhee in 'The First Republic.' From his youth, he was an actor who did not shy away from supporting roles and minor parts for his works. Scenes from Korean film history such as 'Young-ja's Golden Era' and 'A Beautiful Day with Wind' also featured him.

His lifelong acting partner was Kim Hae-ja. They worked together in numerous productions from 'The Frog Husband' (1969) to 'Goong' (2006), and in 'Country Diary,' they played husband and wife for 22 years, leading many viewers to mistake them for a real couple. In 1992, at the recommendation of the late Chung Ju-young, honorary chairman of Hyundai Group, he served as a proportional representative of the Unification National Party and became a member of the 14th National Assembly, but returned to his main career with 'Country Diary' in 1996. He also left a legacy of performing roles modeled after Honorary Chairman Chung in 'Ambition at 25 O'Clock' and 'Age of Heroes.'

His trademark laugh of 'Paha~,' thrown back his head and bursting out, was instantly recognizable. In the 1990s, a humor collection titled 'Choi Bool-am Series' featuring him swept across the nation, and he was loved as a national actor not for authority but for his approachability. He hosted the current affairs and investigative program 'Good Korea Movement Headquarters' for nearly ten years, and with 'Korean Table' he looked after dinner tables across the nation for 14 years. He received the Silver Cultural Order of Merit in 2014, and in 2018 was appointed as an honorary police superintendent in connection with 'Homicide Detective.'

His final on-screen appearance with viewers was a special appearance in 'Homicide Detective 1958' in 2024. He appeared in his elderly years in the story of his younger days as Captain Park Young-han, which he had created 53 years earlier, demonstrating the enduring legacy of the 'Eternal Homicide Detective.' In May of this year, the documentary 'Paha, I Am Choi Bool-am,' which captured his acting life, was broadcast, but he himself did not appear before the camera, saying he would devote himself to rehabilitation. The father of Korean homes quietly stepped down from the stage in that manner. The funeral parlor has been set up at Seoul Asan Medical Center, and condolences will be received from 10 a.m. on the 30th. The funeral will be held in the name of the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation, which he served as chairman of the support committee, and the time of departure and burial site will be announced in accordance with consultation with the bereaved family.