May You Smile in Front of Heaven's 'Dining Table'

[Anchor]

Actor Choi Bul-am, who graced the television screen for many years and represented the father figure of our time, has passed away at the age of 87. He is remembered not only as a top actor but also as a true elder of our society who fulfilled his social responsibilities as a public figure.

Reporter Kim Gyeong-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

Debuting in the play Hamlet in 1959, actor Choi Bul-am opened his own era when he transitioned to television dramas in 1967.

He lived as Detective Park in the drama Chief Inspector for 18 years and 7 months, and as Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in the drama Country Diaries for 22 years.

Although he received immense love from the public as the nation's father, his acting was actually the product of endless effort.

Having lost his father in childhood and raised by his mother, he had to figure out how to play father roles starting in his 30s on his own.

[Late Actor Choi Bul-am / From Master in the House, 2018: I would go out to Seoul Station and just sit there watching people pass by. Generally speaking, their backs were bent, generally speaking, they were slow. I would adjust myself to that perspective and feeling that I observed. Through my roles, I longed for fathers.]

[Mother, please don't send me away. Geum-dong, Geum-dong is not going anywhere.]

An adoption episode in the drama ultimately influenced the direction of his own life.

He took the lead in support activities for children in crisis, prompting the entire cast of the drama to participate in sponsorships, and actively engaged in support projects for out-of-school youths.

He stepped into politics in 1992 as a proportional representation lawmaker, but after failing to win re-election, he returned to the path of an actor.

[Late Actor Choi Bul-am (2018): Broadcast actors are all performers too. From there, it's about showing the public the path they should take—not teaching them, but reaching a consensus and presenting meaning.]

After halting a program he had hosted for the past 14 years in search of the archetypes of Koreans due to back surgery in March of last year, he had been recuperating, but despite the cheers of many, he was ultimately unable to rise again.

An actor who left warm comfort behind his modest smile, much like the saying that a father is someone you miss even more after he passes away, the yearning for the deceased—who was the father and elder of our time—may now be just beginning.

(VJ: Oh Se-gwan, Video Editing: Jang Hyun-ki, Video Source: MBC, KBS)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.