'Nation's father' Choi Bool-am makes final stop at children's charity before burial

"When I die, make sure to stop by the foundation."

The final journey of Choi Bool-am (born Choi Young-han), the actor beloved as the "nation's father," honors that wish. Rather than heading straight to the burial site, the procession makes one last visit to the children's home Choi devoted 45 years to before being laid to rest.

A private funeral departure ceremony was held at 7:40 a.m. Monday at the funeral hall of Seoul's Asan Medical Center, in accordance with the family's wishes. The procession then moved to Yeouido Cathedral in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where a funeral Mass was celebrated from 9 a.m. under the presidency of Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung — the same priest who baptized Choi in 2018 and administered last rites at his bedside nine days before his death. Choi had chosen the baptismal name "Francis" himself, saying he wished to follow the example of the saint of Assisi who served the poor. At the Mass, pop-opera tenor Lim Hyung-joo — who called Choi his "uncle by marriage" — performed "Ave Maria." Lim said he still remembers Choi telling him, "When the time comes to leave this world, say your last goodbye with a smile."

After the Mass, the procession headed at around 10:40 a.m. to the ChildFund Korea headquarters in Mugyo-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, where staff lined up to receive the portrait. Following a memorial address and a flower offering, the portrait was carried on a final circuit through the building. Choi will be interred at Donghwa Gyeongmo Park in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

Choi's connection to the foundation grew out of a drama series. After a 1981 MBC episode of "Jeonwon Ilgi" (Country Diary) aired a storyline in which his character, Chairman Kim, welcomed a child named Geumdong into the family, Choi began sponsoring children. From 1985, Choi served as national patron chairman for 41 years. It was also Choi's own wish that the funeral be held under the auspices of ChildFund Korea. Hwang Young-ki, the foundation's chairman and head of the funeral committee, said that at their last meeting, when Choi could barely speak, Choi nodded when told the foundation would give him a proper farewell.

Born in Incheon in 1939, Choi made his debut in 1959 in the play "Hamlet" and went on to appear in more than 130 drama series, about 90 films and some 50 stage productions. Detective Park in MBC's "Susa Banjang" (1971–1989) and Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in "Jeonwon Ilgi" (1980–2002), South Korea's longest-running drama series, were both roles that defined Choi Bool-am. From 2011, Choi spent 14 years traveling the country's kitchens for KBS 1TV's "Hanguginui Bapsang" (Koreans' Table). After undergoing back surgery last March, Choi worked at rehabilitation but died Oct. 29. The government posthumously awarded Choi the Gold Crown Order of Cultural Merit.

Mourners streamed steadily to the funeral hall for three days beginning Friday. The first to pay respects was Yoo In-chon, the former minister of culture, sports and tourism, who played Choi's second son Yong-sik for 22 years in "Jeonwon Ilgi." Yoo said with regret that a promise to meet around September, once Choi's health improved, was never kept. Kim Hye-ja, who played Choi's on-screen wife across those same years, wiped away tears and said, "I don't think of this as a final goodbye. I miss him so much that I know we'll meet again soon." When Yoon Yeo-jeong encountered Kim Hye-ja outside the funeral hall, the two embraced and wept together for a long while.

Oh Ji-myung, a classmate from Seoul Jungang High School who entered KBS alongside Choi through a special recruitment in 1967, could not hide the grief of losing a lifelong friend. Na Moon-hee said, "He was our pride, and my heart aches that he left before us." Kim Hye-soo, who had called Choi "father" since the 1987 drama series "Samogok," kept vigil at the funeral hall all three days, arranging mourners' shoes and supporting Kim Min-ja. Lee Nak-yon, the former prime minister serving on the funeral committee, remarked on the unshaven portrait photo: "Even after his passing, I thought, 'Choi Bool-am is Choi Bool-am.'" Choi had made a habit of wearing worn, plain clothes so as not to seem out of reach to ordinary people. Kim Jong-in, the former People Power Party emergency committee chairman who sat next to Choi in the same class at Seoul Jungang Middle School, remembered Choi as "an extraordinarily gentle and deeply affectionate person."

Fellow actors Ko Doo-shim, Kang Boo-ja, Cha In-pyo, Song Seung-heon and Lee Je-hoon, along with Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok, People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung and former baseball player Park Chan-ho were among the many public figures who came to pay their final respects.

On Sunday night, Choi offered one last greeting from the screen. A KBS 1TV special documentary broadcast that evening, "Bapsangji-gi Choi Bool-am, Dangshineul Gieokamnida" (Keeper of the Table: Choi Bool-am, We Remember You), included footage from last January of Choi recording narration for "Hanguginui Bapsang" from a hospital room, dressed in a patient's gown. "Here I am again, standing on the road. I have walked this road so many times." On that road, Choi had clasped the coal-blackened hands of a laborer hauling briquettes, and gently cradled the gnarled hands of a fisherman, calling them "truly magnificent hands." Choi named the moments spent holding the small, delicate hands of children as the most deeply felt of his life, and reflected: "It was then that I learned you only truly become an adult when you are able to help someone."

The documentary closed with Choi's own voice lingering in the air. The words "every moment has been a gift" were first spoken last April, when Choi said farewell to "Hanguginui Bapsang" on its 700th-episode special. Now they have become a final farewell to the nation.

"Whether you laugh or grieve, the day given to you passes without fail, and you simply live through that time in quiet perseverance. For me, too, every single moment was like a gift."