“Prepared with the Heart of a Performer”: The “Nation’s Father” Choi Bool-am Returns, Putting Health Rumors to Rest!

Actor Choi Bool-am is finally returning to viewers, putting those “health rumors” to rest! He will be appearing in the MBC special documentary “Paha, I am Choi Bool-am,” airing in two parts on the evenings of May 5 and 12.

After undergoing lumbar disc surgery last year, Choi Bool-am stepped down from the KBS 1TV show “Korean Dining Table,” which he had hosted for 14 years. This sparked various speculations about his health, especially after fellow actors Baek Il-seob and Park Eun-soo expressed their concerns on air.

Amidst the worries and rumors, Choi Bool-am is meeting fans through a documentary that faces his life and acting head-on. This special feature captures his journey of becoming more than just a character, evolving into a father figure to us all.

Having long emphasized the “performer’s spirit,” Choi Bool-am shared his thoughts while preparing for the documentary, saying, “I want to express my gratitude to the viewers who have loved me for a long time. That is the heart of a performer.”

The documentary “Paha, I am Choi Bool-am” is structured as a radio show, using a playlist of his decades-long acting history to look back at his life and works through music. Actor Park Sang-won, who played Choi’s eldest son in the MBC drama “You and I,” will lead the documentary as the DJ.

The documentary follows his trajectory toward becoming the “Nation’s Father.” While he has played the most ideal and warm father figures of our time in countless works, Choi Bool-am opens up in this documentary, revealing, “I experienced an early parting with my father as a child, so I don’t actually have many experiences or memories of a father.”

It also shines a light on his long history of kindness. From the special live broadcast “Mom, Dad, I’m Here” to find missing children to the donation project “New Life for Children,” the documentary explores why he has been so passionate about children’s stories. His sincerity will be explored in depth.

Many of his colleagues will also appear to share stories and memories. Look forward to seeing familiar faces like Baek Il-seob, Park Won-sook, Lee Gye-in, Lee Kyung-jin, Lee Hong-ryul, Im Ho, and Yoo Jin, as well as actors Chae Shi-ra and Jung Kyung-ho.

Through their voices, the documentary will paint a multi-dimensional portrait of Choi Bool-am as both an actor and a human being. Perspectives range from his youth, with Park Geun-hyung saying, “He’s the first man that cool” and novelist Kim Chun-bok noting he was “similar to James Dean, the idol of youth,” to Go Doo-shim describing him as “a father who seems like he would listen to every story.”

Meanwhile, the special documentary “Paha, I am Choi Bool-am” is directed by PD Yang Jung-heon, who produced “Model Prison,” a special project for the 80th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation and winner of the “Experimental Spirit Award” at the Korea PD Awards last year.