This song was released in April 1950, just two months before the breakout of Korea War by the prolific composer Lee Heung-yeol 이흥렬 using a poemreleased back in 1946. This song was taught in elementary schools as early as in 1960s in South Korea 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, almost all young people had known this song from their elementary-school years, but her pure voice made the song a hit 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 in 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.
This song 아침이슬, Morning Dew, is the musical symbol of the resistance against the military dictatorship in 1970s of South Korea, written and sung respectively by the two icons of the time. Kim Min-Ki (1951-2024) wrote this song in 1970 when he was freshman in the college and the singer Yang Hee-eun was freshman in 1971 at the time this song was released. It had already become the national anthem among the dissident students when this song was banned in 1975 under the Park Jeong-hee dictatorship. Four years later the Park regime would see its demise with the sudden death of the President Park. Yet, South Korea would go under another military dictatorship and this song Morning Dew would play a big role inputting an end finally to the dictatorship of four decades since the Rhee Syngman regime of 1948.
Yang Hee-eun sings "Morning Dew" in a TV show in 1991, with the piano accompaniment by the show host Noh Young-shim when the country seemed well on its way to the democracy. She was thirty nine.
The crowd of the political rally in November 2016 in Gwanghwamoon, Seoul, demanding the stepdown of President Park Geun-hye, sing the Morning Dew together with Yang Hee-eun on the open-air stage. The Presidential residence was less than two kilometers away from the venue of this public protest. No doubt the sound of the crowd singing the song was heard by Park. Four months later Park was dismissed from presidency by the Constitutional Court.
Kim Hee-gap김희갑 님 was born in Pyong Yang in 1936 and as a teen came down to the
south with his family during the war. Right after graduating from the high school
in 1955, he started his career as guitarist at the US Army stage. Beginning as producer for the rock
group Key Boys in 1964 he has written thousands of songs for five decades and produced series of monumental hit-songs that defined their time. The modern Korean music cannot be discussed without his presence. This song is one of those, being covered still by many renowned singers.
This song “진정난몰랐네’’-I really didn’t know- was released in 1970 and made a big
hit with the voice of Im Hee-sook, who is remembered for her voice that maintained power in the wide spectrum of notes. This song of her singing is a good example showing how a song can be different by the singing voice.
Song Chang-sik was one of the most famous singer-song-writers in Korea and he covered this song.
He proved he was as good a singer as the song-writer he was.
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.
