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Choi Bool-am, South Korea's 'Nation's Father' Actor, Dies at 86

Known for Chief Inspector and Country Diaries across a career of more than 60 years, Choi died in a Seoul hospital on Thursday after months of treatment that followed disc surgery in March.

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Choi Bool-am, South Korea's 'Nation's Father' Actor, Dies at 86

Key points

  • South Korean actor Choi Bool-am died on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time while receiving hospital treatment in Seoul.
  • Choi's health deteriorated after herniated disc surgery this past March, and he had been focusing on hospital treatment over the last several months, Soompi reported.
  • Choi first debuted as a stage actor in 1959 with Hamlet, and his screen career ran for more than 60 years.

South Korean actor Choi Bool-am died on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at approximately 10:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time while receiving hospital treatment in Seoul. He was 86. Zero Camp, a non-profit organization that Choi chaired, confirmed his death, according to Soompi. Yonhap News TV reported that he died while receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

Health decline after surgery

Choi's health deteriorated after herniated disc surgery this past March, and he had been focusing on hospital treatment over the last several months, Soompi reported. The surgery had already forced a step back from the work that had kept him on Korean television screens into his eighties.

The Nation's Father

Choi first debuted as a stage actor in 1959 with Hamlet, and his screen career ran for more than 60 years. He was loved as Chief Park Young-han in the long-running drama Chief Inspector and as Chairman Kim in Country Diaries, roles that made him a fixture in Korean homes and earned him the name the Nation's Father. His later credits included Princess Hours, Gourmet and Glorious Day.

For 14 years from 2011 he hosted the documentary series Korean Cuisine and Dining, also known as The Table of Koreans, before stepping down after his disc surgery, Yonhap News TV reported.

A life in brief

Choi was born on June 15, 1940, in Incheon. He worked as an actor, an academic and a television presenter, and he chaired Zero Camp, the non-profit organization that confirmed his death. Funeral arrangements had not been announced in the first reports.

A career that spanned decades

The reference entry for Choi lists his screen years as 1970 to 2025, on top of the 1959 stage debut that began his working life as an actor. Across those decades he worked as an actor, an academic and a television presenter, and he chaired the non-profit Zero Camp. The two roles named in both first reports of his death, Chief Park Young-han in Chief Inspector and Chairman Kim in Country Diaries, were the roles that made him a daily presence in Korean homes, and Yonhap News TV cited them in the report that recorded his standing as the Nation's Father.

Timeline

  1. 1959Choi Bool-am debuted as a stage actor in Hamlet.
  2. 2011Choi began hosting the documentary series Korean Cuisine and Dining, also known as The Table of Koreans, a role he held for 14 years before stepping down after disc surgery.
  3. Oct 29, 2026Choi died at approximately 10:30 p.m. Korea Standard Time while receiving hospital treatment in Seoul, after his health deteriorated following herniated disc surgery in March.

Sources