Classic Korean Pop Music Archive: Kim Kwang-Seok / Kim Kwang-Seok Forth (1994)

Kim Kwang-Seok 김광석

Kim Kwang-Seok Fourth 김광석 네번째

1994. 06. 25

Side A

1. 일어나 / Stand Up

2. 바람이 불어오는 곳 / Where Wind Comes from

3. 너무 깊이 생각하지 마 / Don't Think Too Deeply

4. 회귀 / Recurrence

5. 너무 아픈 사랑은 사랑이 아니었음을 / Too Painful Love Is Not a Love

Side B

1. 서른 즈음에 / Near Thirties

2. 혼자 남은 밤 / The Night Alone

3. 끊어진 길 / Broken Road

4. 맑고 향기롭게 / Purely and Fragrantly

5. 자유롭게 / Freely

Kim Kwang-Seok was a folk singer-songwriter who was born in Daegu, Korea. Kim Kwang-Seok started his first music career with participating in recording for a musical album called "개똥이"by Mingi Kim (We'll talk about him later). Soon, he became much more famous as he became a member of "노래를 찾는 사람들" (Song-seekers) singing protest songs, and later he found a band called "동물원" (Zoo) which is also regarded as an important figurine in the Korean pop music history.

This album, Kim Kwang-Seok Forth, was his last solo studio album. Even though this album was published quite a long time ago, still many people claim that his works are some of the best folk songs that represent Korean songs. That is mainly because it is still believed that this album contains pure messages about our lives, not mannerist techniques. Different from his prior works, he tried to talk about life issues rather than social problems through his songs in this album. This made his album embrace much more figurines of our lives. As a result, compared to other albums, his songs could contain lots of discussions about our daily lives, rather than throwing sharp messages or biting sarcasms.

Another thing that makes his album much more special is that he tried to compromise pessimistic attitudes towards our society and our free will. Most of his songs acknowledge our cruel reality; however, he did not end his songs with despair. Instead, he tried to show our hopes and free wills which would change our lives. Especially, through probably one of his best songs, "일어나" (Stand Up), he claims that even though "[he is] standing alone in darkness," he would "Stand up, stand up, like a sprout in spring." These messages of hopes are represented in much more dramatic ways through a contrast with our cruel realities.

Unfortunately, his journey of music ended in 1996 as he was found in a small apartment committed suicide. However, his songs are still alive in millions of people with hopes for our lives, and the fact that still many people visit his memorial stone with Soju in 대학로 (Daehangno) proves it.