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Singer Sim Soo-bong, 70, was seen at the KBS Annex Building in Yeouido, Seoul, and appeared upset following a music show recording. She mentioned that an error by the production team during the instrumental part led her to skip a verse. However, the live broadcast footage viewed by the reporter showed no problems. Hearing this, she smiled widely and said, "Then that's a relief." Even after 47 years since her debut, she still displayed passion and laughter as if she were a young girl.
Sim will perform her solo concert *‘Flower Path’* at the Art Hall Mac in Mapo Art Center, Seoul, starting at 8 p.m. on the 25th. This event is part of her 45th anniversary tour, which started last year. She will also continue with her end-of-year performances in Chuncheon (29th), Yeongcheon (December 9th), Chungju (December 27th), and Jeonju (December 28th). “Since last year, I've been keeping track and realized I've done 35 nationwide shows,” she mentioned. “Even as time goes by, singing and writing songs still brings me excitement.”
47 Years After Making His Debut…“Singing and Writing Music Still Brings Me Joy”
She became known after winning the MBC University Song Festival under the name "Sim Min-kyung, a third-year student at Myongji University." The video of her confidently playing the piano and passionately performing her self-written song *‘That Person Back Then’* without showing any signs of anxiety is still considered a legend in the music field. However, she remembered, "I felt embarrassed because I didn't win in the finals and carried the memory of frustration as a singer for a long time." In her teenage years, she also played drums on the US Eighth Army stage. Although she was referred to as "Korea's Karen Carpenter" for singing while playing drums, she transitioned to piano after her band instructor suggested, "It's difficult for a woman to handle heavy instruments, so consider switching."
These days, she said, "I'm trying to get back to the voice I had in my debut era, but it's not easy. My vocal pitch is now a semitone higher than before." She added, "Many people think I deliberately used a nasal tone from the start, but that's a misunderstanding. A doctor mentioned that my facial bones have large resonance areas." "I used to feel my nasal tone was unusual and tried to change it by shouting. Recently, I watched the university song festival video again and realized it was a very unique voice. I wish I had focused more on it. Everything becomes clearer and reflects with time (laughs)."
Sim's original songs frequently convey a yearning for love and reflect a Korean concept of *han* (a profound, shared sadness). "99% of my songs are written in minor keys," she mentioned. "The core of Korean pop music is to provide comfort and portray the pain and sorrow experienced by everyday individuals." "I lost my father at a young age and was raised by my single mother, constantly feeling loneliness and sorrow, which I eased through music."
Her well-known song *‘Binari’*, which was written for her husband Kim Ho-kyung, 67, a former radio producer, initially carried the name *‘Lonely Love’*. Kim, who was present during the interview, mentioned, “I asked for an encore eight times after listening to the song for the first time.” Sim chuckled, adding, “The lines ‘Heaven, let me love this person forever’ were my way of praying for lasting love.”
Yes, who penned many hits such as *‘I Only Know Love’* and *‘I Hate You’*, stated, “I aimed to craft songs that are not aggressive towards anyone, are welcoming, and have vibrant beauty.” Her 2023 album *‘Married Couple’s March’* features the same chord pattern in verses 1 and 2 but transitions into a major key and more confident mood. “It illustrates the complicated path of two strangers merging into one,” she noted. She also mentioned, “I frequently integrate real-life experiences and personal feelings into my music.” “Perhaps because of limited creativity, I seldom write about events that haven't occurred. Melodies seem to fall from the sky.” She added, “Writing lyrics is far more challenging than composing. I can compose a song in five minutes, but I revise adjectives countless times. It might take three months.”
Her distinct heritage also shaped her musical journey. For four generations, her family has been deeply rooted in the arts: her great-grandfather Sim Pal-rok, a master of piri; her grandfather Sim Jeong-soon, a renowned pansori artist specializing in the Junggoje style; her uncle Sim Sang-deok, who taught the gayageum virtuoso Hwang Byung-ki; and her father Sim Jae-deok, a collector of traditional folk songs. "I believe my father had me in order to carry on the traditional Korean music legacy. Without my family's impact, my career in pop music might not have been possible," she shared.
A Challenging Moment to Relate
October 26th continues to be a delicate recollection. "Although there were no officially prohibited songs, events were restricted during the Fifth Republic immediately following October 26th, which made it challenging to earn a living," she mentioned. That is why her 1984 song *‘Men Are Ships, Women Are Harbors’* was "a thankful tune that launched me into the public eye along with the country's excitement." She further stated, "I faced numerous difficulties, but now I am genuinely fine. Moving forward, I want to sing only tales of offering love, like *‘A Million Roses.’” "The lyrics of that song—regardless of how much someone irritates or harms me, give love freely and move on—have become the response to my life."
Sim hesitated to discuss her adoption while serving as a witness in the recent retrial of former Central Intelligence Agency Director Kim Jae-gyu. “My emotions from that period are already captured in the lyrics of my song *‘Mugunghwa,’”* she mentioned, her face showing discomfort. Her husband Kim Ho-kyung, who was observing, added, “It's time to stop bringing up that story. It's a trauma we've only recently overcome.”
When Sim published her first memoir in 1994, she stated, “I want to be loved as a complete natural person and singer, not as ‘that woman, Sim Soo-bong.’” Thirty years later, this *‘Flower Path’* tour is that performance. “At every concert, I share my sorrows, sing, and receive comfort. I feel something inside me slowly healing,” she mentioned. Her aim for the rest of her life is clear: “I want to create a song like *‘A Million Roses’* as an original, not a cover. As long as my health permits, I will continue composing and performing. With songs that are masterpieces anywhere in the world, even within our pop genre.”