Wang Su-bok
왕수복
Background information
Born(1917-03-05)5 March 1917
Kōtō, South Heian Province, Japanese Korea
Died1 June 2003(2003-06-01) (aged 86)
Pyongyang, North Korea
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Voice
Labels
  • Colombia
  • Polydor
Partner(s)
Korean name
Hangul
왕수복
Hanja
Revised RomanizationWang Su(-)bok
McCune–ReischauerWang Supok

Wang Su-bok (Korean pronunciation: [wa̠ŋsʰupo̞k̚]; 5 March 1917 – 1 June 2003) was a singer from North Korea, who was the most popular singer in Japanese-occupied Korea in 1935.

She was credited as a ground-breaking female artist, whose work led the way for the modern K-pop phenomenon.

Biography

Born in 1917,[1] Wang Su-bok studied at the Chosen Dancing Girls School in Pyongyang, which specialised in gisaeng training.[2][3] This trained girls in singing, dancing, musicianship and costume.[4] She graduated in 1931.[5] Her debut as a gisaeng singer came in 1933, and she was very popular during the rest of the decade.[6][1][7][8] One of Wang's most popular songs was Ulchi marayo (Don't Cry).[9] One of the styles in which she sang was kinminyo, a traditional folk style.[10] She was signed to both Columbia and Polydor Records.[9] Others who were popular at the same time were Lee Eun-pa and the Jeogori Sisters.[2]

In January 1934, Wang was featured in the first live Korean language radio broadcast to Japan. The transmission was organised by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation, and she was accompanied by Kyongsong Broadcasting Orchestra.[11] Wang won a popularity contest for singers in 1935, organised by Samcheolli Co.[6] As of November of the same year, she was the number one most popular female singer in Korea.[12]

In 1936, when she was at the peak of her popularity, Wang was known as the 'Queen of Popular Songs'. She moved to Japan to study Western music, training as a mezzo-soprano singer who sang mostly Joseon folk songs in Western vocal style. In an interview at the time, she said, "I want to sing a lot of Joseon folk songs, just as Choi Seung-hee saved Joseon dance."[5] The Japanese, who had colonised Korea, tried to preclude the use of the Korean language in folk music, so Wang ended her musical career for some time in 1942.[5] She resumed her singing career with the Central Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1953, and by 1955, she had become a vocalist for the National Symphony Orchestra of North Korea.[13]

On her 60th birthday in 1977, Kim Il Sung sent her a birthday gift. For her 80th birthday in 1997, Kim Jong Il sent her a birthday present.[14] She died in 2003.[1]

Awards

In 1959, she was awarded the title of Merited Actor of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.[14]

Legacy

Wang Su-bok featured in a book and exhibition and by Choi Kyu-sung, entitled Ancestors of Girl Groups which described the women who were some of Korea's first singers and heralded the popularity of K-pop girl groups in the country.[15]

Personal life

Wang was a partner of the novelist Yi Hyoseok, who she met in her sister's coffeehouse in Pyongyang. She later married the economist Kim Kwang-jin, who in turn was former partner of the poet No Chun-myeong.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Atkins, E. Taylor (8 September 2022). History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-350-19594-3.
  2. ^ a b "Why Korean girl groups conquering music charts are nothing new". South China Morning Post. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  3. ^ Weintraub, Andrew N.; Barendregt, Bart (31 July 2017). Vamping the Stage: Female Voices of Asian Modernities. University of Hawaii Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-8248-7419-3.
  4. ^ Kim, Youna (1 December 2016). Routledge Handbook of Korean Culture and Society. Taylor & Francis. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-317-33722-5.
  5. ^ a b c d 김은주 (13 April 2017). "[김은주의 시선] 최초의 대중가요 스타, 평양기생 왕수복". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Foundation, The Korea (12 April 2019). Koreana 2019 Spring (English) (in Korean). 한국국제교류재단. ISBN 979-11-5604-304-1.
  7. ^ Shin, Hyunjoon; Lee, Seung-Ah (13 September 2016). Made in Korea: Studies in Popular Music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-64574-0.
  8. ^ Maliangkay, Roald (31 March 2018). Broken Voices: Postcolonial Entanglements and the Preservation of Korea's Central Folksong Traditions. University of Hawaii Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-8248-7833-7.
  9. ^ a b Suh, Dae-Sook (1 January 1994). Korean Studies: New Pacific Currents. University of Hawaii Press. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8248-1598-1.
  10. ^ Shepherd, John; Horn, David; Laing, Dave (18 April 2005). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Part 2 Locations (5 Vol Set): Volumes III to VII. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8264-7436-0.
  11. ^ Suh, Dae-Sook (1 January 1994). Korean Studies: New Pacific Currents. University of Hawaii Press. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-8248-1598-1.
  12. ^ Kim, Kyung Hyun; Choe, Youngmin (7 March 2014). The Korean Popular Culture Reader. Duke University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-8223-7756-6.
  13. ^ "이효석과 왕수복의 사랑 이야기". www.koya-culture.com (in Korean). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "조선 유행가의 여왕 왕수복 아시나요". www.hani.co.kr (in Korean). 21 September 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  15. ^ "History of Korean girl groups revisited". koreatimes. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

External links

Authority control databases
Categories