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Kim Kwang-seok memorial association pays tribute to folk singer 30 years after his death

Published: 05 Jan. 2026, 15:55 Updated: 05 Jan. 2026, 18:59

Yurisangja, a music duo comprising Park Seung-hwa, left, and Lee Se-joon, sing during a Kim Kwang-seok tribute concert at the Arko Kkumbat Theater in Daehangno, Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 4. [KIM KYOUNG-ROK]

Three decades after his death, Kim Kwang-seok’s voice still carries across Korea’s music, theater and film scenes. This week, concerts, albums and stage productions are marking the folk singer’s lasting influence on artists and audiences alike.

“I performed with Kwang-seok just hours before he left us, and we parted after agreeing, ‘Let’s structure this song this way,’” said singer-songwriter Park Haki. “That was the last time I saw him.”

Park, a close friend and collaborator of Kim's during his lifetime, made the remark after singing Kim’s 1992 song “With the Heart to Forget You” at the Arko Kkumbat Theater in central Seoul on Sunday. Footage of Kim’s live performances played behind him as he sang, making their voices overlap. In the audience, 140 listeners sighed and sobbed.

The concert, the name of which translates to “Meeting Kwang-seok Again,” featured musicians who had personal ties to Kim, including Yurisangja and Zoo. The Kim Kwang-seok memorial association organized the more than two-hour program to mark the 30th anniversary of his death.

The venue was once the small Hakchon Theater, where Kim held annual concerts from 1991 to 1995 and performed more than 1,000 times.

Though Kim released only eight albums while he was alive, more than 10 albums bearing his name have followed since his death. His songs have also been remade countless times and used frequently in television dramas, keeping his music in wide circulation.

To mark 30 years since Kim's death — with Tuesday being the exact anniversary — the music industry has been rolling out a series of tribute concerts and album releases. Following Sunday’s performance, the memorial association will hold another concert, the name of which translates to “Singing Kwang-seok Again,” at the Arko Kkumbat Theater on Tuesday. The event will serve as the final round of the annual Kim Kwang-seok song award competition.

The cover of the 30th anniversary special edition LP album from a Kim Kwang-seok tribute project. [ARTBUSTER]

“For this year's competition, 110 teams applied, and only seven advanced to the finals — a competition rate of over 10 to 1,” said Kang Seung-won, the composer of “Around Thirty” (1994) and head of the memorial association.

“Since 2022, we’ve accepted original songs from participants,” Kang said. “From folk music in the spirit of Kim Kwang-seok to gugak [traditional Korean music] and punk rock, musicians from a wide range of genres are applying, which really shows how far-reaching [Kim's] influence still is.”

A tribute LP album will also be released. Record label Artbuster will reissue an LP on Tuesday by compiling tracks from its project, the name of which translates to “Hello, Gwang-seok Hyung,” that began in 2014 and features recordings by younger musicians.

The LP includes “On the Street” by Cho Dong-hee, “The Unfinished Song” (translated) by Kim Mok-in and “A Story of a 60-something Older Couple” (translated) by Han Dae-soo, as well as a special rendition of “Around Thirty” sung by 101 fans.

“All 101 were fans who shared personal stories related to Kim’s music,” said Artbuster CEO Choi Sung-cheol. “Back in 2014, many of them broke down crying in the studio, so we had to record each person seven or eight times.”

A scene from the jukebox musical “A Journey into the Wind” (translated) which is built around the music of singer-songwriter Kim Kwang-seok [SA-IMAGES]

Kim’s musical legacy also remains strong on the musical theater stage. “A Journey into the Musical Wind,” a jukebox musical comprising more than 20 of his songs, is playing at Studio Blue in Daehangno through Jan. 11. Since its premiere in Daegu in 2012, the production has been staged 865 times over 13 years, drawing a cumulative audience of more than 162,000 people.

The 1998 film “Christmas in August” was also inspired by Kim. Director Hur Jin-ho, a longtime fan, said the idea came to him while looking at a smiling portrait of Kim — a rare sight at the time.

“[For] the screenplay, I focused on the idea of showing a brighter side of [Kim's] daily life, something different from the circumstances of his death,” Hur said in a recent email interview.

But why, exactly, does Kim and his music continue to resonate across generations and genres? Experts point to the sincerity of his lyrics and the emotional pull of his voice.

“Kim’s music captures the most important moments of people's lives, so it doesn’t go out of fashion,” said critic Kim Hak-sun. “Even today, the metaphors in the lyrics of ‘The Private's Letter’ [1986] and ‘Around Thirty’ deeply resonate with young men about to enlist [in the military] and people in their 40s approaching middle age.”

A scene from the film “Christmas in August,” which director Hur Jin-ho says is inspired by an idea that came to him after seeing a smiling memorial portrait of singer Kim Kwang-seok [JOONGANG ILBO]

Kang added that while Kim was a singer-songwriter, he never insisted on performing only his own compositions.

“He had a great eye for choosing songs and an exceptional ability to make other people’s music his own,” Kang said. “That’s a big reason he’s still loved today.”

The simplicity of folk music also sets Kim apart in today’s music landscape. Critic Lim Jin-mo noted that 1996, the year Kim died, was also when boy band H.O.T. debuted, ushering in the era of idol-dominated music.

“Kim’s folk music — just a guitar and harmonica, quietly telling personal stories — stands at the opposite end of today’s system-produced K-pop,” Lim said. “That contrast has given his music a rare kind of value.”

Another critic, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it would be hard to imagine today’s singers performing 1,000 times in small theaters, even after gaining popularity.

“The absence of a true ‘next Kim Kwang-seok’ reflects how much the music industry system has changed,” the critic said.

Paradoxically, Kim’s untimely death has also breathed lasting life into his songs. Sanha, a singer-songwriter who won the top Kim Kwang-seok award at last year’s competition, said the inability to see and hear those songs performed live makes them feel even more poignant.

“That sense of loss creates a kind of idealized image of Kim Kwang-seok,” Sanha said. “This stirs nostalgia for Korea in the 1980s and 1990s, when he was active.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI MIN-JI, CHOI HYE-RI [[email protected]]