Kim Soo-chul (Korean: 김수철; born April 7, 1957)[1] is a South Korean singer, musician, and composer. He began his career in the late 1970s as a rock singer and musician, later releasing "modernized" traditional Korean music, and composing numerous film scores.[2][3]
Kim Soo-chul | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 7, 1957 |
| Origin | South Korea |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, composer |
| Instrument | Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Website | kimsoochul |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김수철 |
| Hanja | 金秀哲 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Su-cheol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Such'ŏl |
Early life
editKim Soo-chul was born on April 7, 1957, in South Korea. When Soo-chul was young, he loved to play many instruments and practiced ten hours a day. While in high school, he performed with the trio Fire Fox. In 1977, he was accepted to Kwangwoon University, where he formed the quartet "Little Big Man", with fellow students Kim Jang Won-mo (bass), Choir Soo-ill (drums), and Keung-Sung (keyboards). In 1978, as "Little Big Man", he attended a national college campus festival contest conference and received the grand prize with the song, "Seven Colored Rainbow." Because of this, the group "Little Big Man", became known to the public. Kim Soo-chul and his group members played a high-energy fusion of rock, jazz, folk, and soul music. In 1981, "Little Big Man" disbanded following their graduation.
Career
edit1983–1984: Best Singer of the Year
editAfter "Little Big Man" disbanded, Soo-chul worked for his career as a soloist. He released his debut solo album, Little Giant, in August 1983. The album included the songs, "The One Flower That Could Not Bloom" and "I Will Not Fall in Love Again". By this album, the Korean Broadcasting System named him Best Singer of the Year in 1984, and won 16 other prizes.
1987–1990: Success and failure
editSoo-chul composed the traditional dance piece "The World of Spirits" in 1987. It was performed by dance troupe Kim Hun Hee, and won the grand prize at the ninth annual Korean Dance Festival. After receiving the prize, Soo-chul was inspired to record his first album of traditional music. The album was a major flop. However, label Seoul Records, which Soo-chul was included, stopped distribution because it failed to sell more than 200 copies. After the failure, he tried to record additional traditional albums, but none of them produced a good result.
1990–present: Purpose
editDuring 1990 he toured with a stage show, Guitar Sanjo, that combined his electric guitar playing with a traditional group. In 2002, he released a Korea-Japan World Cup opening song in 2002. Even though he received many hardships, he continued to work for his goal which was "to introduce the sound of traditional Korean music to a global audience."
Discography
edit- Sori for Invocation
- Tae-Baek-San-Maek
- Guitar Sanjo (2002, Living Sound Productions)
- Pops & Rock (2002, Living Sound Productions)
Film Scores
edit- Whale Hunting (고래사냥) (1984), in which he also starred.[4][5]
- The Dirty Mob (중광의 허튼소리) (a.k.a. Nonsense of Jung-Kwang, 1986) [6]
- Place in the Sun (1988) [7]
- Chilsu and Mansu (1988)
- Black Republic (1990)
- Silver Stallion (1991)
- Kyongmachang Kanungil (1992) [8]
- Sopyonje (1993)
- The Taebaek Mountains (1994)
- My Dear Keum-hong (금홍아 금홍아) (1995), in which he also starred.
- Festival (1996)
- Downfall (1997)
- Blades of Blood (2010)
- Hanji (2011), directed by Im Kwon-taek[9]
Additional titles are listed in Imdb.com entry.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Jang, Yu-jeong (2018). 노래 풍경: 장유정의 음악 산문집 (in Korean). ALMA. ISBN 9791159921704.
- ^ Park, Jin-won (2017-12-13). "[人터뷰+] 뮤지션 김수철의 40년 여정 ① : 기타로 우뚝 선 '작은 거인'". SBS News (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- ^ ""37년간 국악 연구"…환갑 맞은 김수철, 음악인생 40년 책 출간". KBS News (in Korean). 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
- ^ "Whale Hunting". koreapop.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ Seo, Hyun-Suk. "To Catch a Whale: A brief History of Lost Fathers, Idiots, and Gangsters in Korean Cinema". thefilmjournal.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ "Dirty Mob, The". koreapop.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ "Place in the Sun – Cast, Reviews, Summary, and Awards". AllRovi. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ "Kyongmachang Kanungil – Cast, Reviews, Summary, and Awards". AllRovi. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
- ^ "Hanji (2011) – Full cast and crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 25 December 2011.