Korean trot singer Hyeon Cheol dies

At the age of 24, the singer came to Seoul and released his first album. Five years after his debut, he packed his bags and returned to his hometown of Busan. But he couldn’t bear to turn away from music. He remained nameless for years, but he persevered. “A song needs time to mature. I will wait, no matter what happens,” was his credo.

Korean singer Hyeon Cheol (real name Kang Sang-soo), who dominated the Korean music scene in the 1980s and 1990s with his unique singing style and soft voice, died on Sunday evening at a hospital in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. He was 82 years old.

According to reports, the deceased’s health deteriorated due to nerve damage during a disc surgery four years ago. He recently contracted pneumonia and was in intensive care for two months. As his family, including his beloved grandchildren, said goodbye to him, they played his favorite song, “My Heart Like a Star,” in his ear. “My heart is like a star/I’ll ​​be a star in the sky and shine forever.”

Hyeon Cheol’s first hit came 14 years after his debut. He rose to fame with the song “Thinking of You When I Sit or Stand” (1982), which he wrote in honor of his wife, who supported him during his modest career. He was 40 years old. He had success with several other numbers, including “Love Is a Butterfly” and “My Heart Like the Stars,” and rose to the ranks of leading Korean trot singers with “Impossible Flower Love,” released in 1988. Song Dae-gwan, Seol Woon-do, and Tae Jin-ah were called the “Four Great Kings” and led the heyday of trot.

Even after his fame, he remained down to earth. He was an older brother who bought drinks and food for his younger ones, always speaking in a homely Gyeongsang dialect. He chatted with neighbors and frequently used public transportation such as the subway. “Hyeon Cheol was caring above all else. He cried when I won an award and held my hand, and I did the same for him. He was the best singer in the trot sector in Korea and the music industry will miss him very much,” said singer Tae Jin-ah.

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