Kim Min-ja mourns actor Choi Bool-am after 56 years of marriage

Kim Min-ja greeted mourners at the Asan Medical Center on the 30th following the death of her husband, actor Choi Bool-am, who passed away at age 87 on the 29th. The couple, who married in 1970, will hold a five-day funeral service before a procession on November 2.

As actor Choi Bool-am passed away at the age of 87, his wife Kim Min-ja, who shared more than half a century with him, suppressed her grief while greeting mourners at the funeral hall. Despite the anguish of losing her husband, her composure as she firmly held the hands of mourners to offer thanks left a heavy impression on those watching.

Kim Min-ja greeted visitors on the 30th at Choi Bool-am's funeral hall, Room 20, at the Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. She reached out to each person who came to accompany the deceased on his final journey to express her gratitude. Her attempt to maintain a calm expression while swallowing tears revealed the deep sense of loss from parting with her lifelong partner.

Choi Bool-am passed away at approximately 10:00 p.m. on the 29th at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, at the age of 87. His body was moved to Asan Medical Center at approximately 12:20 a.m. on the 30th, at which time it was reported that Kim Min-ja broke into tears while following her husband on his final path. Her presence at the funeral hall, greeting mourners even in moments of grief, showed her respect for those who came to visit the deceased, adding to the poignancy of the scene.

The couple's relationship began in the late 1960s. Choi Bool-am fell in love at first sight with Kim Min-ja while she was appearing in the KBS drama 'Madam Jeong-dong.' He expressed his feelings so actively that he decided to leave the stage to appear in TV dramas just to meet her. After four years of dating, the two married in 1970 and spent 56 years together as husband and wife, sharing all of life's joys and sorrows.

To Choi Bool-am, Kim Min-ja was more than just a spouse. In 2022, he appeared on the KBS 2TV show 'Immortal Songs' and publicly expressed his gratitude toward his wife. At the time, he expressed his unchanging affection for his long-time partner, stating, "I am only grateful from beginning to end."

Reflecting on his marriage, he also confessed, "My marriage conditions were very poor. I was an only son who had to support a widowed mother, and I worked in theater, which was the poorest profession. I was in a position where it was difficult to be liked by a woman." He added, "However, I don't think I can ever repay the fact that my wife chose me in a single lifetime," leaving a deep resonance. His confession of a love that could not be fully repaid contained respect and gratitude for the wife who chose him.

To the public, Choi Bool-am is an actor long remembered as Detective Park Yeong-han in 'Chief Inspector' and Chairman Kim in 'Country Diaries.' However, the 56 years he spent with Kim Min-ja held a different meaning from his roles on screen. From his beginnings on the stage to reaching the status of a national actor, the two walked together as each other's closest companions for a long time.

The sight of Kim Min-ja holding the hands of mourners and swallowing tears after losing her husband conveyed the weight of a parting that is difficult to put into words. The image of the husband who once considered changing his acting venues just to meet his wife, and the wife to whom he expressed gratitude throughout his life, added to the sadness as their 56 years together overlapped with this final farewell.

In honor of his lifelong dedication to children and youth, the funeral will be held for five days in accordance with his wishes as the head of ChildFund Korea. The funeral procession will take place strictly at 7:00 a.m. on November 2, followed by a funeral mass at Yeouido Catholic Church in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, presided over by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung. The burial site is Donghwa Gyeongmo Park in Paju, Gyeonggi-do.

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