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Page of Swords & The High Priestess, vol.19-5
Now, a few days later, we were sitting side by side on benches in Central Park that day as usual, reading "A Course In Miracles" to each of us. Then, Masato was approached by an elderly Korean couple.
Husband Park Tae-goo and wife Lee Mi-kyung live with their children on West 32nd Street in "Koreatown/K-Town" Manhattan. Their second son owns a thriving Korean restaurant. Like many Korean immigrants, they came to New York in the 80's fearing the long-lasting military dictatorship. They were very grateful that Masato played "Beautiful Woman" by Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS and "Give Me Some Water" by Han Dae-su, which their late eldest son used to listen to, at "Far East Rare Groove".
Masato once broadcast a special feature called "Korea in 1974." At that time, he played several songs by Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS and Han Dae-su, including the two songs that were banned by the military dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee.
Born in 1938, Shin Joong Hyun is known as "the Father of Korean Rock". He admired Elvis Presley, picked up a guitar and took a chance by offering songs to other singers, making his solo debut in 1959. And he formed Korea's first Rock Band, Add4, in 1962. And on August 25, 1974, he released his debut album as a new band, Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS.
"Beautiful Woman" was the first song on the album and was a huge hit, frequently played on radio. This is Psychedelic Rock, and Masato explained during the show that there is an assessment that he is similar to FUNKADELIC out of the P-FUNK group. Shin Joong Hyun gained fame and was asked by the Blue House/Korean Presidential Palace to write a song praising President Park Chung Hee. However, he refused, and instead recorded “Beautiful Rivers and Mountains” as Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS, which he had released under the name Shin Jung-hyeon and The Men in 1972 in the hope of the beauty of the land and nature of Korea and world peace, on his second album.
He was then detained in December 1975 for his involvement in a cannabis case, and then held in a psychiatric hospital for 2 years. His songs were already designated as banned songs and continued even at the stage of his liberation in 1977. 1977 was the year that John Travolta's disco dance movie "Saturday Night Fever" was released nationwide. It was a time when Discothèque was booming around the world, so ballads and dance music were popular in Korea, and he became a forgotten figure.
Han Dae-su also released his debut album "Long Long Road" in 1974. Originally from Busan, he moved to New York and graduated from elementary school there. When he returned to Korea in 1961, he became fascinated with Rock music and performed in the university district. He became a reporter for the newspaper "The Korea Herald" soon after his discharge from the Navy at the age of 26, and even published "Long Long Road" shortly thereafter. His big hit "Give Me Some Water" is said to be the music that introduced "Folk Rock" and "Indie Rock Bands". At the time, student movement activists calling for democracy and free speech chanted "Give Me Some Water" shoulder to shoulder.
So, Han Dae-su was monitored by the military dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee. In search of a free musical career, Han Dae-su once again traveled to New York City. He became the first Korean to perform at CBGB, a live music club located at 315 Bowery at the east end of Bricker Street in Manhattan. Along with the nightclub and restaurant "Max's Kansas City" at 213 Park Avenue South, "CBGB" was a New York Punk center where RAMONES, TELEVISION, Patti Smith, TALKING HEADS, BLONDIE, Johnny Thunders & the HEARTBREAKERS, RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS performed frequently in the '70s. The Punk movement spread to London, where the SEX PISTOLS appeared and eventually spread around the world.
Now, on August 15 of that year, 1974, an event to celebrate independence from Japan was held at the National Theatre in Seoul, attended by President Park Chung Hee and his wife, Yuk Young-soo. North Korean agent Mun Se-gwang disguised himself as a high-ranking official of the Japanese government to infiltrate the venue and attempt to kill President Park Chung Hee, but failed. But Mun Se-gwang killed Yuk Young-soo. Ten days later, the debut album of Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS was released. Masato introduced "Beautiful Woman" while explaining the political background of Korea.
In the spring of 1980, Park Tae-goo and Lee Mi-kyung's 20-year-old eldest son was a student at Chonnam National University in Gwangju. "Gwangju Uprising" occurred from May 18 to 27th. On May 18, university students from Chonnam National University and citizens from Gwangju clashed with the military in a demonstration against the military coup led by Chun Doo-hwan and others and the suppression of the pro-democracy movement by martial law. Martial forces, mainly paratroopers, opened fire and violently assaulted civilians. On the 21st, civilians successfully seized and armed the Republic of Korea Reserve Forces arsenal for self-defense, but it was suppressed on the 27th. The death toll is said to be 154, or 198, or even more. The eldest son of Park Tae-goo and Lee Mi-kyung took part in the demonstration and died. Among his belongings are Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS 'first album and Han Dae-su's "Long Long Road." They left the Republic of Korea to raise their remaining children safely, relying on Lee Mi-kyung's sister, who was living with her American husband in New York. Fortunately, Park Tae-goo was an English teacher by trade, so they thought that as long as they lived in "K-Town," they would be able to make ends meet, even in a foreign country with a different language. They brought Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS 'first album and Han Dae-su's "Long Long Road" to New York as a keepsake for their son.
Park Tae-goo and Lee Mi-kyung, however, did not know much about Shin Joong Hyun and Han Dae-su. They only knew that they were music that their late son loved, and it was hard for them to listen to it, so they just kept it and never listened to it. But when they listened to “Beautiful Woman” by Shin Joong Hyun & YUP JUNS and “Give Me Some Water” by Han Dae-su, which came from “Far East Rare Groove” that their daughter was listening to, they experienced feelings of sadness and joy that could not be explained. They cried so hard they listened to all of "Far East Rare Groove" on air that day. And what amazed them so much was the fact that the Japanese, an enemy that many Koreans will never forgive and should annihilate even the last person, told them how great the music of Shin Joong Hyun and Han Dae-su was. Park Tae-goo held Masato's hand tightly to express his gratitude.
Continued story : Music Should Make Everyone Happy (6) - The Case of Nagiib Al-Jibril -
©Mitsuhiro Toda@Screenwriter Group Aquariusera
