이루어 질 수 없는 사랑 Impossible Love

 

Yang Hee-eun 양희은 was born in downtown Seoul in 1952 during the period of Korea War. Her father died when she was 12 and her mother raised the three girls running a boutique shop, but her business went south after a series of unfortunate incidents. Up against such family vicissitude, she managed to go to the most-coveted girls’ high school in the whole country, yet being the eldest child of the poverty-stricken household, she had to make money for her family singing songs on stage. She had an exquisite voice and it was time for the folk music around the world and in South Korea too. Many quickly recognized her talent and gave her songs. Her first album released in 1971 when she was freshman in Sogang University included the legendary songs “Morning Dew” and “Senoya’, which made big hits and made her an icon of the new-generation young women in blue jeans and short-cut hair. She still remains one of the most admired popular artists in Korean society.

This song “Impossible Love” is written by Kim Jeong-shin 김정신, a young lady at the time of the song-writing. It is known she had written the song inspired by her friend who was suffering from a sudden parting with her love.

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이루어질 수 없는 사랑 Impossible love

너의 침묵에 메마른 나의 입술    차가운 네 눈길에 얼어붙은 내 발자욱

My lips dry from your silence         My footstep frozen from your cold gaze

돌아서는 나에게 사랑한단 말 대신에     안녕 안녕 목메인 그 한마디

Instead of " you love me",  just the chocked-up "good-bye, good-bye" from you as I turned away

이루어질 수 없는 사랑이었기에 음-       For that was a love that could never be

 

밤새워 하얀 길을 나 홀로 걸었었다      부드러운 네 모습은 지금은 어디에

I walked down the white road all night alone Where is the gentle appearance of yours now?

가랑비야 내 얼굴을 거세게 때려다오 슬픈 내 눈물이 감춰질 수 있도록

 Oh you, drizzle, hit me hard on the face so that my sad tears can be hidden

이루어질 수 없는 사랑이었기에 음-   For that was a love that could never be

 

미워하며 돌아선 너를 기다리며 쌓다가 부수고 또 쌓은 너의 성

Waiting for you, who turned away hating me, I built, broke and built again your castle

부서지는 파도가 삼켜버린 그 한마디 정말 정말 너를 사랑했었다고

The one word that the breaking wave swallowed, I really really loved you  

이루어질 수 없는 사랑이었기에 음- For that was a love that could never be

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The song is known for simple guitar chords, so was loved by many guitar beginners. I found this video clip of the song cover by an amateur singer, Lee Je-soon 이제순, with unadorned, yet charming voice and atmosphere. She is not necessarily a guitar beginner.

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물 좀 주소 Gimme some water

 

Han Dae-su 한대수 is often called Father of the Korean Fork Rock. He was born in 1948 in Busan to a rich and highly-educated family. His grandfather was the inaugural dean of  Theology school of Yonsei University and her mother was the only professional pianist in the war-time Busan. But his life was one for the short story of Thomas Hardy. His father went to US to study the nuclear physics when he was yet a baby, but somehow his father went missing for no reasons yet known. He was raised by his grandparents and he happened to learn to play guitar from one of his classmates in the Gyeongnam High School in Busan. Somehow his father got reconnected and he was brought to US to live with his father, who had remarried with an Italian-American lady with nine children from her previous marriage. He went for the veterinarian school upon his granfather's advise, but he soon learns that the he can never get used to using knife on animals. He returned to Korea at the urge of her mother.  Working as journalist in an English newspaper in Korea, he wrote songs. It was in 1974 when he first released his album that carried the monumental songs, like 물 좀 주소 "Gimme me some water" and 행복의 나라로 "To the land of Happiness". He was also professional photographer and the cover of his first album was his creation expressing his posture to the authoritarian society.

   

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물좀주소 물좀주소 목마르요 물좀주소                                                                                        Gimme water Gimme some water I’m thirsty Gimme some water

 물은 사랑이여 나의목을 간질며 놀리면서 밖에 보내리                                                                           Water is love It tickles my throat and tease me out to the road 

아 가겠소 난 가겠소   저 언덕위로 넘어가겠소                                                                                   I’ll be going I’ll be going over the hill up there 

여행도중에 처녀 만나 본다면  난 살겠소 같이 살겠소                                                                           If I meet a maiden on the trip, I ’ll be living I’ll be living with her

 물좀주소 물좀주소 목마르요 물좀주소                                                                                             Gimme water Gimme some water I’m thirsty Gimme some water

 그 비만 온다면 나는 다시 일어나리   아 그러나 비는 안오네                                                                    I would get up if only I can get that rain but it never rains

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When you see him sing his song, you would know him. It was in 2005 on a TV show  by EBS, named "The reason why we call them Maestro".  It was more than 30 years after the song's release and he was 57. Yet, a next page of his life was waiting.

end.

아름다운 강산 This Beautiful Land

 

Shin Jung-hyeon is often said the greatest musician in the modern Korean pop music. He was born in 1938 in Seoul. His biological  mother was Japanese but she died when he was very small and he grew up with siblings born under his Korean step-mother. When he was a small kid, his family was relatively affluent and there was a  big LP player in the house, exposing him to the world of music. But he lost his parents during the war period in Korea and he couldn't even finish the high school. He started working in an US Army base in 1955 as a hand for the music stage, in his high school uniform because he didn't have any outwears presentable. He had played the guitar since his middle school years and he was allowed to play guitar on the stage two years later. He left the US Army base stage in 1964 and launched the rock group named "ADD4" in the same year and began to emerge as the leader of the Korean modern music as song-writer, guitarist and band leader, incorporating the wide spectrum of pop music genres from rock, soul, ballad to psychedelic and even Korean traditional folk music elements. In the course he contributed to the trend of the world music silently.

This song 아름다운 강산, This Beautiful Land, was released in 1972. Longer than eight minutes of play time, this song shows the mixture of the elements from the western music and Korean traditional. This song is often regarded as unofficial national anthem of Korea. 

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하늘은 파랗게 구름은 하얗게  실바람도 불어와 부풀은 내 마음   

 Sky so blue,   Cloud so white,  A thread of breeze blowing up my heart

나뭇잎 푸르게 강물도 푸르게     아름다운 이곳에 내가 있고 네가 있네                                               leaves so green,  River so blue,  in this beautiful place I am and you are                                                                                            

손잡고 가보자 달려보자 저 광야를    우리들 모여서 말해보자 새희망을.   

let’s go out  run to the open wilds hand in hand, Let’s get together and talk about the new hope

하늘은 파랗게 구름은 하얗게   실바람도 불어와 부풀은 내 마음    

Sky so blue  Cloud  so white  a thread of breeze blowing up my heart

우리는 이땅위에 우리는 태어나고   아름다운 이곳에 자랑스런 이곳에 살리라.                                  We are here born in this land   We’ll stay to live this land, so beautiful, so proud

찬란하게 빛나는 붉은 태양이 비추고  하얀 물결 넘치는 저 바다와 함께있네  

Where the glorious red sun shines down    Where the ocean overspills with white waves

그얼마나 좋은가 우리사는 이곳에  사랑하는 그대와 노래 하리.

How wonderful it is    Right where we are living I would sing with you my dear love

오늘도 너를 만나러 가야지 말해야지   먼훗날에 너와 나 살고지고       

Today I would go see you and say     In the far future you and I would get along and by

영원한 이곳에 우리의 새꿈을  만들어 보고파.

wish to make our new dream in this eternal land of ours

봄여름이 지나면 가을 겨울이 온다네    아름다운 강산.

Spring and Summer pass by    Autumn and Winter come     This beautiful rivers and mountains

너의 마음은 나의 마음 나의 마음은 너의 마음    너와 나는 한마음 너와 나 

Your heart is my heart  My heart is your heart     You and I are of one heart    You and I

우리 영원히 영원히. 사랑 영원히 영원히    우리 모두 다 모두.. 다 끝없이 다정해 

We forever Love forever     All of us all together    Loving each other endlessly

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This song is one of the most covered by the other singers. Here is the one by Jeon In-gwon and Park Ki-young performed in the TV Show named 'Immortal Songs:Singing the Legend'- 불후의 명곡-in April 2017.  Observe how the Korean audience responds to this song.

Shin himself took this song of his making special. He had many singers sing this song and he liked to produce new versions of the song. Here you have the psychidelic version of the song.

end. 

님이 오는 소리 The Sound of Nim coming

 

Lee Pil-won was the leader of the duet ‘Toi and Moi’, of which the starting female partner was Park In-hee. In the two years’ time he worked with Park In-hee, the duet released three albums leading the new wave of folk songs in the popular music of 1970s’ Korea until they parted in 1972 with Park going for solo. This song 님이 오는 소리 or ‘The Sound of Nim coming’ was released in 1974 in the fourth album of ‘Toi et Moi’ with a new female member. The song came to be revived as sound track for the movie 아가씨 ‘The Handmaiden’ released in 2016, directed by Park Chan-wook, and made its second hit four decades after its first release.

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    님이 오는 소리같이 어디서 들리는 소리    내 가슴을 조이는 그 소리 

    Sound from somewhere like Nim coming       The sound that squeezes my heart

그러나 오지 않네 이 밤이 지나도록   안타까운 내 마음은 그칠 줄 모르고

But Nim never came past the night       My wistful heart never stops yearning

 님이 오는 소리만 기다려져                  님이 오는 소리만 기다려져

Keeps waiting for the sound of Nim coming   (repeat) 

 기다리는 내 마음에 기쁨이 넘쳐흘러라   그대 나를 찾아서 저기 오네

The waiting heart of mine brims with joy     He’s coming for me over there 

푸른 꿈 가득 안고 행복을 가득 안고 기다리는 내 마음에 꽃을 피우네

Holding the verdant dream, holding the happiness full in the bosom, flowers are blooming in the waiting heart

어서 와요 그대여 기다렸어요    행복한 꿈을 꿔요 옛날같이.

Come quick, darling, been waiting for you    Let's dream happy dreams like old days

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The sound track for the movie ‘the Handmaiden’ was sung by Gain, member of the K-Pop girl group Brown-Eyed Girls, and Minseo, a new generation singer. 

                                                                                                                                                                   end