#101 Lunar New Year Concert with Kim Tae Woo

[스티븐스 대사]

Greetings Netizens and Happy Lunar New Year!  One thing I enjoy about living in Korea is that we seem to say “Happy New Year” for about two months, from the “year-end” parties of December right through Solar New Year to Lunar New Year.  So here’s another New Year’s blog from me.  Warning: It may not be the last one.

Just before the Seollal holiday, I hosted at Habib House a concert featuring K-pop legend Kim Tae Woo.  Over the years my predecessors and I have enjoyed hosting performances by all kinds of talented musicians, but as far as I know this is the first time we’ve had real K-pop at the residence.  I met Kim last year.  I confess I’d never heard of the boy band g.o.d., but Kim, who had just finished his compulsory military service, gave me a copy of his CD “T-Virus”, and I started listening, and quickly became a fan. 

Listening to music is one of my favorite ways to reinforce and refresh my Korean language skills.  For example, listening to the song “기억과 추억” reminded me of the subtle nature of Korean: “기억” is translated “memory,” I suppose, and “추억” reminisce or remembrance, but I like the way the words are similar and yet sound and feel so different.  Equally important, listening to Kim’s songs gives me a little insight into how English has become so much more preval‎ent than it was in my younger days in Korea: I learned I could say “너무 쿨해서” because it’s in the lyrics of another song on the album.  Cool!

Anyway, we had a great group for our concert, centered on alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and former participants of the Embassy’s Alumni Youth Leadership Program (AYLP).  IVLP is the U.S. government’s premier program for emerging leaders from all fields; for over 70 years we’ve been inviting promising professionals to the U.S. for a tailor-made three or four week program in the U.S.  Here in Korea, we are especially proud that former Presidents Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung are both IVLP alumni. 

AYLP is a newer, Korea-specific program, established in 2007 to bring together 30 English-speaking students from rural high schools in Korea where American Fulbright English Assistants (ETAs) were posted.  The six-day program continues today.  Through it, ETAs act as instructors and mentors to the group of students, none of whom have been abroad, exposing them to current issues and institutions to provide a view of U.S.-Korea relations.  The AYLP alumni brought great energy to the concert; many appeared with “fan signs” so that we, the older generation, were left in no doubt of Kim Tae Woo’s continuing popularity!

Kim Tae Woo sings 사랑비 at Habib House.

Kim Tae Woo kicked off the concert with one of my favorite songs (and one of his most popular): 사랑비 – “Love Rain, or The Rain of Love” -- you can tell I am a bad translator.  He went on to sing 꿈을 꾸다 (Dreaming Dream), a song any devoted fan of Iris, the popular Korean drama, knows well.  After singing a few songs in Korean, he switched into English and did an amazing job with Stevie Wonder’s iconic “Isn’t She Lovely” and then Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”  For his encore, he belted out a medley of old g.o.d. songs.  I had done my homework before he came and learned that g.o.d. stands for “groove overdose,” but it turned out none of the young people knew this.  They did, however, know the lyrics to all the songs and sang along enthusiastically.    

Kim Tae Woo performs “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder. 

Throughout the performance, the students shouted words of encouragement and there was even the occasional “I love you, Tae Woo!” They made bright signs with neon-colored letters that they waved as he performed.  I am sure it will be a night they will remember for a very long time.  I know I will!

Students take the opportunity for a group photo.