K-pop's golden boys break silence
Lee Yong-sung
The Korea Herald
Publication Date : 08-07-2008


Key players of golden generation of K-pop (abbreviation for South Korean popular music) are returning to the music scene after a long hiatus, which is good news for the long-struggling local pop music industry.

Although there has not been an album surpassing the 100,000 sales mark so far this year, the situation was totally different 10 years ago. Four albums became million sellers in 1998 alone: Jo Sung-mo's To Heaven (1.35 million), Seo Taiji's Take 2 (1.1 million), H.O.T's Resurrection (1.1 million) and Shin Seung-hoon's A Promise That Can Never Be Kept (1.05 million).
Except for the now-defunct boy band legend H.O.T, the remaining three are preparing to break their long, self-imposed silence with new albums. This is expected to revitalise the industry.
Kim Kun-mo, one of the biggest recording stars in the country's history of pop music, is releasing his 12th album later this month. Kim, who began his hit parade in 1992 with Chot-in-sang (First Impression), which sold more than 700,000 copies.
(Considering the total population of this country this is equal to quadruple-platinum sales in the United States.)
He racked up a record-breaking 2.8 million copies sold with his third album, Jal-mot-doen-man-nam (Wrongful Relationship) in 1995.
For the upcoming R&B album the 39-year-old singer has collaborated with Kim Chang-hwan, the producer of his top-selling albums during the 90s. The albums include Jal-mot-doen-man-nam and Excuse (Ping-gye), the breakthrough second album that sold more than 1.8 million copies in 1993.
Seo Tae-ji, the former leader of Seo Taiji & Boys, almost single handedly reshaped the local pop scene with his musical experimentation based on American hip-hop. He will release his long awaited eighth album next month.
Also, on August 15 he will host a rock festival named after him, 'Eerie Taiji People Festival', at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the lineup of which includes the cult rock star Marilyn Manson, Japanese hip-hop sensation Dragon Ash and of course, Seo himself.
Kim Jong-kook, a pop star with a beautiful, high-pitched voice and a masculine body, recently finished his two-year mandatory military duty. His new album will come out sometime during fall.
The singer debuted as the vocalist for dance duo Turbo, back in 1995. He experimented with a new style of music when the duo was disbanded. He eventually landed back at the top of the major charts when his second solo album, One Man (Han Namja) came out in June 2004.
Jo Sung-mo, whose previous three albums released between 1998 and 1999 sold more than 5.6 million copies, total, also finished his military duty recently. A member of the 'Year of the Dragon Club', a group of peers born in 1976, which also includes Kim Jong-kook and Cha Tae-hyun, Jo became a star immediately after debuting with the movie-like music video of his song, To Heaven.
A detailed schedule for his new album is yet to be determined, but Jo declared he will target the Japanese pop music market as well with his new songs.
Shin Seung-hoon, the all-time best-selling pop artist in the country, whose first six albums became million sellers, is working on his new album, due out in October. According to the "ballad king" who has long been an idol for many younger K-pop stars including Jo, the upcoming album will be different from his previous releases in terms of style.
Besides the 90s pop icons, sexy divas such as Lee Hyo-ri, Ivy and Um Jung-hwa are planning to make comebacks this summer. Fans are already excited about their brand new looks, as well as dances and melodies.

Why when I read this title, I thought they would be breaking their silence about bad treatment they received from their productions companies back in the day.

Since I was wrong, lol, I am looking forward to Kim Jong Kook.

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I just can't help myself. Risk it all with me.

Haha! I thought they were going to tell everyone that they were gay!

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I would love to know how that would turn out. I don't see them having a good future. Do you know how crazy the "fangirls" are in a lot of asian countries. From some of the things I read I am afraid of them and fear for some singer's future significant other. Then if the SO was a guy...

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I just can't help myself. Risk it all with me.

I have heard some crazy stuff about fan girls. But I think that the girls would love it to an extent... In JRock concerts, the guys tongue each other on stage and the girls start going crazy! It's that damned yaoi manga! lol But yeah, I could see how some would be pissed with them dating another male.

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I forgot about yaoi but that guy has to be extremely hot I'm sure. So sad that some girls would rather the singer be gay rather than date a girl.

Oh yeah, kind of getting away from the topic of this thread. Well...I have to check out Lee Hyori to see if she has any songs worth downloading.

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I just can't help myself. Risk it all with me.