Culture ministry awards Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit to late actor Choi Bul-am

The culture ministry said Friday it had posthumously awarded the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest grade of the award, to actor Choi Bul-am, who died at 87 the previous day, and conveyed it to his family. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young presented the medal to the bereaved family on the government's behalf and honored the actor's memory, the ministry said.

Choi was best known for two long-running television roles that became fixtures of Korean broadcasting. He played Detective Park Young-han for 18 years in "Chief Investigator," a series regarded as the origin of the Korean-style police procedural, and spent 22 years as Chairman Kim of Yangchon-ri in "Jeonwon Ilgi," the country's longest-running drama.

He debuted in 1959 in a stage production of "Hamlet" and worked for 67 years across theater, television, film and documentary programming. From 2011 he hosted "Korean Cuisine Table" for 14 years, introducing the stories behind regional food to a mass audience.

Choi was also active outside broadcasting. From 1985 he served as national sponsorship chairman of the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation, supporting children in Korea and abroad, and as chairman of the board of Zero Camp, which helps teenagers who are outside the school system become self-reliant.

It was not his first state honor. In 2014 the government awarded him the Silver Crown Order of Cultural Merit for his contribution to popular culture and the arts.