Choi Bool-am, veteran Korean actor of Country Diaries, dies at 87

Choi Bool-am, one of South Korea's best-loved actors, whose career on stage and screen ran for more than six decades, died in hospital on the night of Thursday, October 29, 2026, at the age of 87. Zero Camp, a non-profit organisation he chaired, said he died at about 10.30 pm Korea time while receiving treatment. On Friday, October 30, President Lee Jae Myung offered his "deep condolences" and called the actor the "father of our era".

Few actors anywhere have been part of a country's living rooms for as long as Choi Bool-am was in South Korea's. He began on stage, with reports dating his first performance to a production of Hamlet in 1959, and moved into television in 1967. Over the following decades he became one of the most familiar faces of Korean drama through long-running series such as "Chief Inspector" and "Country Diaries", and later the host of a documentary series about Korean food.

That food series is part of why he mattered to younger viewers and to audiences outside Korea. At a time when Korean dramas, music and food have found fans around the world, including in India, his documentary offered a look at the cooking traditions behind the global interest in Korean cuisine. His later drama roles, including in the romantic series "Princess Hours", also reached international viewers through streaming.

The President's tribute shows the place he held in national life. Calling him the "father of our era" is the kind of language reserved for figures who are seen as belonging to everyone, not only to fans of one show. His charity work, especially with ChildFund Korea, added to that public image. He also chaired Zero Camp, the non-profit organisation that announced his death, and stayed in public life until his health declined after back surgery in March this year.

His death also marks the passing of a generation that built the foundations of the Korean screen industry long before the Korean Wave carried its dramas and films to audiences abroad.

Short-term: Fans, fellow actors and broadcasters in South Korea are paying tribute, and his best-known dramas and the food documentary are likely to draw new viewers.

Long-term: Choi Bool-am's work will remain a reference point for Korean television, both as a record of how the country's dramas grew and as an archive of its regional food traditions.

Who is affected: Viewers in South Korea who grew up with his programmes; international fans of Korean dramas and food culture, including in India; the actors and producers who worked with him; and the charities he supported.

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