Paik Young-gyu was born in 1952 right in the middle of Korea War period in Inchon. He majored in the Italian at the University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, but his passion was always in music. He was successful. As a singer-songwriter
he released a series of hit songs in 1980s. His was mostly of sad love songs in Korean folk style. When he came to wtite this song, he was a popular singer already with many hits to his name. Somehow he gave this beautiful song titled “그대품에잠들었으면“, or “If only I could sleep in your bosom”, to Park Jung -Soo, who was an aspring singer with an engineering degree, like Paik himself with no-entertainment background, perhaps because he couldn’t find
no other singer, including himself, to reproduce the feel he had sought to create with this song. It turned out to be a huge hit, bigger than any other songs of
his own singing. Despite the size of the hit, this song has been rarely covered by other professional singers, to another evidence for the difficulty in reproducing the core feel of
this song.
Yang Ha-young in 2017 on stage accompanied by the very writer of the song Paik Young-gyu
end.
Sy Jo, Author of this article, was born in Busan, and majored in Business Administration at Yonsei University. He worked in the telecommunication industry, specializing in telecommunications policy and international relations.
This song was released in April 1950,
just two months before the breakout of Korea War by the prolific composer Lee
Heung-yeol 이흥렬 over a poem released back
in 1946. This song became a must in elementary-schools music class by early 1960s and is now one of the national hymns of Korean people. The
simple lyrics describing a baby and mother in a poor seaside village seems to
epitomize the state the country was in right after the Liberation. Notable
should be the undaunted musical productivity of the Korean people as it went
through the series of national tribulations.
When Park In-Hee released this song
in one of her albums in 1970s, all young people had known this song from
their elementary-school years, but this song in Park's pure voice struck the chord with the Korean mind, young and old, regardless.
Island Baby by Park In-hee released 1974
엄마가섬그늘에굴따러가면 When Mother
goes out to shades to pick oysters
아기가혼자남아집을보다가Baby watches home
alone
바다가불러주는자장노래에He falls
asleep on his own arm
스르르르 팔을 베고잠이듭니다to the
lullaby the sea sings for him
아기는잠을곤히자고있지만He’s
sleeping deep like a baby,
갈매기울음소리맘이설레여but Mother, unsettled at the cry of seagulls,
다못찬굴바구니머리에이고runs across the
sand
엄마는모랫길을달려옵니다with the unfilled basket on her head
Park In-hee singing the "Island Baby" in September 2024
50 years after the release of the song by her voice in 1974
in the concert held for the audience of her generation
Japanese singer Azma Aki singing "Island Baby" in a Korean TV show in March 2025
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Sy Jo, Author of this article, was born in Busan, and majored in Business Administration at Yonsei University. He worked in the telecommunication industry, specializing in telecommunications policy and international relations.
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.
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 can be a real guitar beginner or a professional who came up with the best way to sing that song.
.Author of this article, Sy Jo, was born in Busan, and majored in Business Administration at Yonsei University. He worked in the telecommunication industry, specializing in telecommunications policy and international relations.
