"national MC" the late Heo Cham has been gone from our side for four years already.
Feb. 1, 2026, marks four years since the late Heo Cham died after battling liver cancer. He passed away on Feb. 1, 2022, becoming a star in the sky. He was 73.
Born in 1949, Heo Cham grew up in Busan and took his first step into the entertainment industry as the MC of the 1970s music café "Shelbur". Afterwards, he appeared on TBC's '7 Great Singers Show', KBS 2TV's 'Show Show Show', 'Challenge: Housewife Song Star' and others, establishing himself as the era's top host in name and reality.
Above all, an indispensable part of his life was KBS1's 'Family Entertainment'. From its first broadcast in April 1984 until it ended in April 2009, he led the program for a long span of 25 years (in its 26th year). His shout of "final score, how many to how many!" as he interacted with people of all ages became a catchphrase that will remain in the history of Korean entertainment. Notably, the only time he left the MC seat in those 25 years was for just one week in the mid-1980s when he was hospitalized after a traffic accident.
Heo Cham's last path was as considerate as his character, which made it all the more tragic. After a colon tumor was found in 2008, he appeared to recover his health, but he was later diagnosed with liver cancer and lived with the disease. However, he kept his illness strictly secret for fear of inconveniencing his family and acquaintances. Because he tried to appear on broadcasts and show a bright face until a month before his death, the sudden sad news came to the public as an even greater sorrow.
The void he left was large, but to juniors who remember him, he is still a warm "role model." Son Mina, who worked with him on 'Family Entertainment', recalled him as "my role model who personally showed the exemplary conduct of a broadcast host, a very kind and friendlike person," and Oh Jeong-yeon also expressed longing, saying, "Even though he was an elder, he never acted superior and was considerate of juniors."
The late Heo Cham, who walked a single path with only a microphone, won awards including the 2005 Korea Entertainment Arts Awards TV host award and the 2006 KBS Entertainment Awards achievement award. Although he is gone, his boisterous laugh, witty talk, and his cry of "how many to how many" still resonate deeply in the public's heart even four years later.
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