"The Season of Longing": The Poem-Like Text Message Late Actor Choi Bul-am Sent to Kim Hye-soo Revisited [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

As the late actor Choi Bul-am passed away, a text message he once sent to actress Kim Hye-soo is being revisited.

According to the bereaved family on the 30th, Choi Bul-am died at approximately 10 p.m. on the night of the 29th while receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It is known that his wife, actress Kim Min-ja, and their children were by his side until the end.

The late actor had stepped down from "Korean Table," a KBS 1TV documentary program he had hosted for 14 years since 2011, after undergoing lumbar disc surgery in March of last year, which made it difficult for him to move. He subsequently devoted himself to rehabilitation, but his health reportedly deteriorated rapidly.

News of his passing has drawn renewed attention to the text messages he exchanged with junior actress Kim Hye-soo, who was particularly close to him during his lifetime. In a 10th-anniversary special episode of KBS 1TV's "Choi Bul-am's Korean Table" broadcast in 2021, Kim Hye-soo expressed her unique affection for the Choi Bul-am and Kim Min-ja couple, saying they were "like a mother and father" to her.

At the time, Kim Hye-soo said, "When I occasionally exchange texts with the two of them, Ms. Kim Min-ja's messages reflect her own character. They are very considerate and concise." She added, "I was initially surprised when I first received a text from Mr. Choi Bul-am. At first, I thought he had put special effort into writing it for me, but his texts always read like poems."

She continued, "I have saved all the texts that occasionally come from him. When I receive one of his messages, I read it over and over again. It makes me feel so good," and revealed the content of a text message she had received from Choi Bul-am.

The revealed text read: "I heard you were abroad, but you have returned, and now you are heading to New York again. How do you manage such a long journey that takes twelve or thirteen hours? Leaving behind Seoul, where the cool wind blows. Have a glass of wine and sleep unconditionally! You must rest your body while erasing longing and pain; then New York will be pleasant. Autumn is the season of longing, the season when grapes ripen. The inside of the airplane should become a dream season. Then come back. Let's hear about the dreams Hye-soo had."

Hearing this, his wife Kim Mi-ja said, "He must have been a poet in his dreams. He writes a lot at home. Because my husband cannot fully express what he wants to say, he condenses his words when writing, and one might feel that it is poetry." In response to such praise, Choi Bul-am shyly remarked, "Did I write this? It's well written."

Meanwhile, the late actor's wake has been set up in Room 20 of the funeral hall at Seoul Asan Medical Center. The departure ceremony will be held at 7 a.m. on the 2nd, and the burial site is Donghwa Memorial Park.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original