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| Trot singer Ryu Chun-geum, also known by her Chinese name Liu Chunjin, resumed her career recently. She debuted as a singer in 1992 but has had a two-decade hiatus to take care of her startup business and raise her son. Courtesy of Ryu Chun-geum |
Korean-Chinese trot singer back on stage after decade hiatus
By Park Ji-won
When asked about the timing of their comeback, some singers say they do their best to return as soon as they can. This stock answer is offered particularly when an artist's comeback is certain but the exact date has not yet been fixed.
But for some musicians, including Korean-Chinese singer Liu Chunjin, the timing of their comeback is much less certain.
Liu, better known to Koreans as Ryu Chun-geum, has been absent from the public eye over the past decades since her debut as a trot singer in the early 1990s. As a single mother, she found it tough to pursue a full-time career as a trot singer.
Ryu, 57, has recently returned to the stage to restart her career as a full-time singer, showing it is never too late to restart a career as a trot singer.
Time seems to be on her side ― her return coincides with a "trot boom."
TV Chosun's music competition "Miss Trot," which aired last year to select Korea's next top trot singer, triggered a rare boom. The winner Song Ga-in and other finalists became in-demand singers after the show. Its follow-up "Mr. Trot," which premiered two weeks ago, reignited the trot music craze with a record viewership of 17.9 percent for the second episode that aired last Thursday.
For Ryu, being a popular singer is not her sole goal. She wants to give hope to fellow Korean-Chinese in Korea.
"Some 800,000 Korean Chinese live in Korea and they have a hard time in this country. I hope I can console them with my performances," Ryu told The Korea Times during a phone interview on Thursday. "I want to become a genuine singer who can inspire both Korean and Korean-Chinese people. I will do my best."
Born in the northeastern part of Yanbian, she impressed others with her skilled North Korean-style vocal technique even in childhood.
Thanks to this talent, she won first place in a local singing competition in Yanbian when she was a middle school student, and majored in opera at Yanbian University College of Arts.
After graduation, she began her career as an art troupe member and then a producer at YanBian Radio Television Broadcasting Station. She debuted as a singer in China in 1984.
Ryu was discovered by a Korean producer who saw her performance on a KBS music show. Through the producer, she signed a contract with a local entertainment agency to begin her music career in Korea. She debuted as a trot singer in 1992, dropped her first trot album that year and performed nationwide.
Ryu faced challenges from the start because of her unique Pyongyang-style vocal training. For South Korean audiences, her vocal technique sounded awkward.
"For months, I had to practice the standard Korean accent and learn South Korean trot, which was very different from what I was accustomed to," she recalled. However, she was able to find her own singing style which is somewhere in between the South and the North Korean way.
Ryu performed on TV music shows several times. But her income from her infrequent TV appearances was insufficient to raise her son.
"I tried to make a living out of singing. I even sang a song in eight nightclubs a day, but without my own hit song, I failed to go further as a singer."
She founded a trading company in 1995 which handled clothing, granite and engineering services for ship-owners. Her bilingual ability helped her business grow. Her initial goal with the trading company was to help her musical career: that is, she tried to finance her dream with the money she earned from the trading company.
However, her business success made it tough for her to find time to appear in TV shows or invest money in her dream. The annual sales revenue of her company is 2 billion won.
With the smooth growth of her business and her son becoming an adult, she eventually found time to focus on being a full-time singer without financial stress.
"Hallyu is booming. This is the moment I have been dreaming of as a first generation Korean-Chinese singer in South Korea. My career in the past was not successful. But I am proud of being one of the singers who has paved the way for the beginning of the Korean Wave."
Ryu said Joo Hyun-mi, an ethnic Taiwanese trot singer who was immensely popular in the 1980s, is her role model, praising Joo for her setting a precedent as a successful multicultural singer in South Korea.
Ryu is now expanding her foothold in South Korea and in other Asian countries as well.
Last year was prolific for her. She released her new single remake album in July. She performed in China to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-North Korea diplomatic relations and in Japan for a ceremonial event for the ethnic Korean group in Japan.
The good news has continued this year. She is scheduled to feature on KBS radio Jan. 15 and perform at a concert to mark Lunar New Year, Jan. 19. She is also planning to release a new album with famous songwriters within this year in both Korean and Chinese.
"I didn't give up singing and kept going throughout my life.…. It has been a long time since I've been on stage, I would like to impress audiences in South Korea and China," she said.
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| Ryu Chun-geum performs to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of China-North Korea diplomatic relations, Jilin, China, September. Courtesy of Ryu Chun-geum |
