The public’s love of the modern folk singer Kim Kwang-seok and his music grows even deeper longafter his death 20 years ago. This year, exhibitions about his life and concerts featuring the latesinger in holographic images are drawing endless streams of fans.
Kim Kwang-seok healed many wounded souls of hisgeneration with his singing, to his own accompanimenton guitar and harmonica. Kim took his ownlife at the age of 32 in 1996. Twenty years later, hecontinues to be loved by many Koreans.
On June 13, the hologram concerthall K-Live, located on Eulji-ro inJung-gu, central Seoul, staged aconcert that featured the late Kim Kwangseok.Kim was resurrected as a 3D imageon stage thanks to cutting-edge audiovisualtechnology; he sang old favorites, such as“Letter from a Private” and “Around Thirty,”accompanying himself on the harmonicaand guitar just as he did while alive.
An audition was held ahead of the concertto select the person whose facial features,bearing, and movements most closelyresembled those of the late singer. A professionalstage actor was selected, and hehad to train rigorously for two months so hecould move like Kim and mimic his facials. When the actor was ready,he put on the outfits that Kim had actuallyworn during his live performances, and hislip-synching was recorded at a chroma keystudio, capturing even the subtlest movementsof the actor’s facial muscles. Anythingthat seemed to be lacking was addedin by professional animators who overlaid68 images of Kim Kwang-seok’s uniques. As part of the Ministry of Scienceand Future Planning’s Digital HeritageProgram, the holographic concert was producedby 3D Factory; the project took ninemonths and cost some 550 million won.
A Short, Intense Life
“I used to feel sorry for him, but now Ienvy him,” said singer Park Hak-gi, whowas a close friend of Kim. “Is there a singerwho is loved so much for so long? Heleft behind a real story about his life deepinside the hearts of people who listened tohis songs.”
Kim Kwang-seok first made his nameknown in the 1980s when he joined theworking-class singing group Song Seekersand the band Dongmulwon (Zoo). Hebecame socially conscious singing protestsongs that were refined in pop style. Hesang the songs that his contemporarieswanted to hear but at the same time henever wavered from his personal principles.
He was an insightful singer in thatregard, for which he was widely respected.He later went on to become a solo performer. From his first album “Kim KwangseokI” in 1989, to his remake album “ResingingKim Kwang-seok II” in 1995, hesang more conscientiously than anyoneelse and reached out to a wider audience,calling himself the “singer worker.”
Kim held his 1,000th concert at HakchonTheater in Daehangno on August 11,1995, where he said: “I read a book writtenby the go p Cho Chikun [Koreanname Cho Chi-hun] when I was in middleschool, in which Cho said that he doesnot play to win. He said he just places thestones [on the board] one by one, with asmuch care as possible, and he became aKisei [“Go Sage”] and a Meijin [“Master”]. Inever aimed for a 1,000th concert. At eachconcert, I just performed every song withall my heart, and here I am. I owe this toyou. What are my plans after this concert?Nothing planned, really. Just go on living.”
But the following year, on January 6,1996, he committed suicide at the youngage of 32. It remains a mystery to this daywhy he decided to take his own life.
Kim Kwang-seok Street in Daegu, d to honorhim in 2009, has become a tourist spot frequentedby 800,000 visitors every year.
Icon of Contemporary Folk Music
Kim Kwang-seok’s music is uniquein that it sounds like typical folk musicat first, but when you listen more closelyyou realize that it is a combination of severalgenres. His enunciation and on-beat,forthright singing style is compatible withprotest songs or folk songs, but his melodiesalso include elements of pop and jazz.When he sings, it isn’t the songs themselvesthat we appreciate but “a montageof paintings.” He painted onto his songs thetapestry of life, including feelings of happiness,sorrow, friendship, and love. His singingstyle could have gone the way of musicalcliché but because of this his songsstruck a chord deep in people’s hearts.
Kim was a short man, with rough features.His appearance was nothing like thatof a star, but the voice that came from hisheart was enough to bowl over his audiencesand leave them mesmerized. Fewother pop culture stars have the ability tooverwhelm an audience like Kim, and hisunique, powerful music comforted andhealed so many weary souls. He has beenlauded as a pillar of contemporary Koreanfolk music and icon of lyrical pop music,and his music is still being reinterpretedtoday. A youthful singer, Kim Kwang-seokwas suddenly gone like the wind, 20 years ago, but his memories linger on, laying asolid foundation for today’s pop culture.
‘Re-singing Kim Kwang-seok’
The annual “Re-singing Kim Kwangseok”concert has been staged since 2008.It serves as an opportunity for audiencesto be reintroduced to Kim’s songs. Thememorial concert, where musicians in tributeto the late singer replay and reinterprethis music, is now celebrating its ninth year.
In 2009, his hometown of Daegu dedicatedthe Kim Kwang-seok Memorial ArtStreet, also known as Artists’ Alley. This300-meter-long street is lined with largemurals of iconic images of the homegrownsinger-songwriter, painted by local artists,and sculptures of Kim from when he wasa young boy to when he attained fame asa singer. The street has become a touristspot attracting 800,000 visitors every year.At Theatre Bundo, a holographic Kim concertis presented from Thursday to Sundayevery week. The 20-minute show is free;it only requires an online reservation. The70-seat theater is rarely empty as peoplesteadily flock in to see the show.
An exhibition, “See Kim Kwang-seok,”was held at Hongik University’s DaehangnoArt Center Gallery in Seoul, from April 1 toJune 26 this year, displaying Kim’s handwrittenmusic scores, diary, memoirs, andhis favorite guitar. It was a large-scale exhibitionthat included eight themed spaces,where his music came together withthe works of artists who paid him tribute.Another memorial exhibition is under wayat the nearby DDP Design Pathway, fromJuly 16 to September 11. It is titled “KimKwang-seok in My Heart: wkf tkfwl?” Thecryptic sequence of letters was the lastmessage he posted on “Round Sound,”the bulletin board of his online fan site, justbefore he died. Decoded into Korean, thisodd sequence of letters may be read as“are you well?”
Kim Min-ki, a singer-songwriter andimpresario, who is heading the KimKwang-seok memorial program, sums upthe inspiration behind the many efforts tokeep the late singer’s work alive throughthe decades: “The DDP exhibition is allabout extending ‘my’ Kim Kwang-seok tothe realm of ‘our’ Kim Kwang-seok.”
한국국제교류재단
