There is an old saying that, "Horses should be sent to Jeju Island and people to Hanyang," the former name for Seoul.

This statement implies that people are likely to be exposed to a better educational environment in Seoul, and horses would be able to better graze on Jeju Island with its abundant open, wide fields. As the saying suggests, the educational environment on the island wasn't adequate until even a generation ago.

However, there is one boy who was born into a poor family on the island and who has overcome those difficulties. In elementary school, he lived far away from school and he normally spent two hours along rugged mountain trails to get to school. He had nothing to play with: no toys and there was no playground nearby. The only playground was the hills at the base of Hallasan Mountain. Tired of playing around the lower mountainside, he used to lie down and look up at the clear blue sky. Looking at airplanes flying in the sky, he dreamed of becoming a pilot.

The boy liked singing. His gifted, beautiful voice always surprised the people around him. He used to always dominate the stage at school arts festivals. Nonetheless, he couldn't dare to dream about becoming a singer. It wasn't even easy for him to go up a grade.

He graduated from a Jeju middle school and studied at Jeju Commercial High School at night. During the daytime, he worked as an office boy at the middle school and had another time-part job at a bookstore while he attended lectures at night. Students at the commercial school had the shared aim of getting a job upon graduation. He conceived a vague hope, however, that he might go to a university somehow. He took the university entrance exam, but the results were not good enough for him to choose what to study. He entered the department of sociology only because its standards corresponded to his score.

As every other male Korean citizen must do, he was conscripted during his university years. Most young people his age on Jeju Island were assigned to serve their military duty in their hometown. However, he was assigned to an unfamiliar region across the waters in the middle of a northern province on the peninsula. He fulfilled his duty at the 27th Division in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province.

He came back to his hometown after about three years. He was thinking about returning to school, but people around him suggested he study music. They thought it was a shame to let his outstanding musical talent just wither away. He thought that it would be impossible at first, but wanted to be persuaded. At the age of 25 in 1985, he made it into the Jeju National University College of Education. It was a very late start. He was behind his other colleagues by as much as six to seven years or even a decade.

Most music students begin their studies very early on, even before entering kindergarten. They receive lessons in such instruments as the piano and violin at kindergarten and maintain their studies during middle and high school, all to get into a music college. He skipped such prerequisites that take approximately 12 years and succeeded in entering the music college, majoring in voice.

After a lot of struggles and hardship, he graduated from the music college and was placed in a public high school as a music teacher. It was an attractive job that guaranteed work until the age of 63. He turned down the deal, however, and threw himself into a sea of competition. In 1992, he left for Rome, home to many opera singers. He was 32 years old at the time. Without any connections or background to help him, he challenged himself to a mountain of difficulties. He had to work as a travel guide for a long time in Italy to make a living and to maintain his studies there. After such hardships, he finally became a music professor at Keimyung University in Daegu. Getting a position like that is akin to passing through the eye of a needle, even for graduates of highly esteemed universities. This survivor is Kim Seoung-chuel, a baritone singer.

Korea.net sat down with Kim to share his life story of tears, sorrows and achievements that has made him who he is now.


We have all heard your song "Sewol," or, "A Long Time" in English. The lyrics seem to mirror your life. Please tell us about this song.

The lyrics go like this.

When asked what is your dream/ I just look up to the sky
A bit of cloud floats away/ the sky is full of wind
Looking back along the path/ there are times I had a dream
Of coming with a kite/ I have tears in my eyes

Ahh/ I fly a kite/ I dream of flying in the sky
Full of the world/ full of the world/ with my dreams
Finding the meaning of love/ the meaning of life/ the meaning of life to pursue a dream
Everything moves with time and the tide/ I have tears in my eyes

Whenever I sing this song, I feel as if it is my life. I can sympathize with the lyrics. This was a pop song produced by composer Lee Yo-seop. I came across the score with only a melody when it was unknown. I created an instrumental part to accompany it.

This song means a lot to me personally, as this was the first song I performed in Rome. The audience loved it. A lot of musicians requested the score of the song. I also performed it when I came back to Korea at a number of opera events, and fans loved it here, too. Now, it's regarded as my representative song.

I have a dream to fly in the sky... The lyrics touch listeners' hearts. What was your dream when you were young?

I never had any dreams when I was a kid. Living in poor circumstances, I wasn't even able to imagine studying music. I used to play around the foothills of Hallasan Mountain and enjoyed looking up at the sky, having a vague dream to become an air force pilot. Family circumstances, however, didn't allow me to pursue that dream. I decided to study at Jeju Commercial High School at night, a fitting choice for my background. I worked as an office boy at the school and also worked at a bookstore during the daytime. I thought that there would be plenty of time to study and read at the bookstore, but I was never able to do so. I was always busy delivering or packaging books and cleaning the store.

What made you to begin your music career?

I entered the department of sociology at Jeju National University in 1981 simply because my score corresponded to the department's acceptance criteria. A little later, I was conscripted. After serving in the military, my life completely changed. Some acquaintances of mine, including Minister Jo Yeong-rae and piano accompanists that I met at Jeju Seongan Church, heard my voice and suggested I study music. I didn't want to resist their suggestions. There were only 60 days left until the exam. I almost lived in the library and studied all day long. Staying up for several nights in a row, right after being discharged from the military, perhaps compromised my immune system for I caught acute hepatitis. I had to be hospitalized for about 20 days.

I lost my dad when I was serving in the military. Mom nurtured the five of us -- four sons and one daughter -- all by herself. We weren't able to afford the medical costs. Magically, I came across neuro psychiatrist Yoo Soon-hyung who was also an amateur opera singer. Professor Yoo had a lot of classical records and materials, rare items during those times. He helped me a lot, not only with medical treatment, but also in building my music career. He is one of the most important people in my life. Thanks to him, I was able to have my eyes opened to a wide variety of fields.



For the practical exam, I wrote down phonetically in Korean all the sounds of the Italian songs and memorized them all. Eventually, I made it into the Jeju National University College of Education in 1985, majoring in voice. I was one of the four survivors. I couldn't enjoy the moment, though. Professional music lessons began, but I had no musical knowledge at all. I couldn't sight read or take musical dictation. I didn't know how to play the piano, a fundamental skill for music majors. I decided to take a year off and began studying the basic skills.

Just by luck, ahead of graduation I was able to sing a solo in the choir where I sang bass. The choir consisted of members from choirs in Seongnam, Anyang and Bucheon. Everyone in the group was surprised that a singer from Jeju National University would be given such a big role. Only about one month ahead of the choir performance, I was placed as a teacher at Jeongok High School in Gyeonggi Province upon graduation. It was a great chance for me to become a music teacher. I liked both: becoming a music teacher and becoming a member of the choir. After long consideration, I made up my mind to become a teacher.

At that time, I was dating my wife. We met in church. She used to tell me that she will send me overseas to study music someday. One day, while I was working at Jeongok High School, she brought me a bunch of material and information about Italy. She was studying Italian already. I quit the teaching job in about two years and flew to Italy.

How was your life in Italy? Did you have any troubles there?

It was just miserable. Upon arrival in Rome, my wife started working at the Seoul Restaurant, a place that offered Korean cuisine. She had to wash dishes all day long. The dishwater splashed onto her clothes and caused an infection on her stomach. Under such circumstances and poor conditions, we had to rely on each other. While in Rome, we had our first baby. Probably due to weak health, my wife suffered from morning sickness from the first stages of pregnancy until giving birth. That little baby, who looks exactly like me, is now in her fourth year at the Department of Theater and Film at Chung-Ang University. She is very interested in musicals.

You probably experienced difficulties in becoming part of the art community. Why do you think you were able to become a professor when there were so many other candidates with degrees from more highly-ranked universities?

As a Christian, I always thank God for guiding me. From a more worldly perspective, Rome gave me a lot of chances. They didn't care about my academic background or prize-winning experience at music competitions there. They only asked me what I've done and what I can do well. I was able to get a chance to stand on the stage as long as I needed to get ready.

At first, I was supposed to study in Italy for only five years. As I stayed there longer, however, I had to make money. I started to work as a travel guide for Korean tourists. I studied during the travel time between destinations. In such a way, I worked during the daytime and studied opera scores at night, repeating the daily routine again and again. While in Rome, I graduated from several professional courses at public music institutions.

In late 1997, Korea plunged into financial crisis and the number of Korean tourists in Rome notably dropped. I had to find another way to make money. The alternative was participating in music competitions. I more or less won around 20 prizes at a number of concourses. The desperation that I needed to win the competition probably helped me concentrate better on my performances than other competitors. I travelled around many regions on the so-called "concourse tour" with my little electric rice-cooker.

Then, I received a series of calls from a number of management companies. They tend to trust only reliable information. At the time, I luckily came across Giuseppe Taddei (1916-2010), a famous master in the opera world. He knew that I was having economic problems and offered me free lessons. Something like that is just not possible in Korea. Thanks to him, I started to actively take to the stage, including at the outdoor theater in Verona.


I was getting known in Korea, too. In 2001, I was invited to play the role of Boccanegra in the opera "Simon Boccanegra," organized by Korea National Opera and held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's death. The main character was supposed to be played by three singers. The first singer, assigned to take the opening stage, had a throat irritation. After the first scene, he had to give up and step off the stage. Watching the performance from the audience, I was urgently called to the stage. I changed into costume, received my makeup in a very short period of time, and appeared on stage. My relatively deeper and louder voice, compared to the first singer, might have been well-received. Starting with my time in Rome, everything that happened to me was just a series of miracles.

In 2011, I received an Italian visa for singers, as I was contracted to perform at the Verona theater. The visa allowed me to stay in the country only during performance times, as indicated on the contract. Each contract gave me the right to be in the country for an average of a month or two. I was forced to hunt for new work as soon as I finished the first one. I lived like that for around two years. Thanks to such conditions, I worked hard and experienced a lot. However, it was too tough. I decided to return to Seoul in 2004.

Back home, I was able to take part in a number of great works, including "Nabucco," "La bohème" and "Il trovatore." Then, I was invited to work as a professor at Hanyang University for a year. One day, I found a job opening for a music professor at Keimyung University. I didn't expect too much because there were so many applicants with higher academic degrees and more experience, but I passed through the document screening phase. When I showed up at the university for the practical exam, I met with some 20 other applicants. They were dumbfounded, hearing that I was from Jeju National University. Eventually, I was the one who passed. I started teaching students in March 2006.

What kind of message do you want to give to the audience through your songs?

Theater is very dark, but I can see the faces of the people in the audience. I want to keep eye contact with them. I always try to sing as if I were having a talk with those people. I hope to deliver to the audience the emotions and the intentions of the composer and lyricist. Of course, voice is important for singers, but I strongly believe that we can communicate with the audience through our eyes, too. I feel extra happy when I think I am in commune with my listeners.

We believe that melodies and beautiful sounds are a medium that connects singers and the audience. Nonetheless, as the lyrics are written in a foreign language, there can be a gap in communication and understanding. How do you think you can overcome that problem?

Symphonies and orchestral works have no lyrics. I think that opera is an extension of that. We can all tell from one's words, nuance and facial expression if it's praise or swear words. I believe music has the power to express emotions of happiness and sadness. I always force myself to learn how to better express my emotions. It's never been easy.

What has been your best work so far?

I debuted in Europe in 1999. "Nabucco," my first work in Europe, is the most memorable work in my life. However, my favorite role was in "Simon Boccanegra." I was deeply attracted and affected by the main character and the troubles that the character conceived.


Today, the classical music market is showing signs of decline. Many singers and artists opt to do crossover music, to better communicate with their audience. Have you tried that?

I believe there are no clear boundaries in music. I don't agree that the classical music market is shrinking. I think other genres have expanded a lot. Classical music is a type of music that requires a great stage and a great orchestra. I accept that it is a genre that can hardly be favored by the general public. For sure, we should make efforts to get closer to the public. In that sense, crossover music can play a big role. If it's not just a fad, integration and collaboration between diverse genres is important. It's always good to be open-minded and be ready to communicate.

However, I have a strict rule for myself that I will never pick up a microphone during a performance. I have a strong belief that singers should make a loud sound that can reach the furthest corners of the theater. I have dedicated my life to studying sound and voice.

What is 'music' to you?

Music completely changed my life. It gave me a number of magical chances. When I was living in Wolpyeongdong on Jeju Island, I walked along the trails at the base of Hallasan Mountain for approximately four hours every day. Laying down in a green field, I often looked up to the sky. I lived in harmony with nature. There were only a couple of chances per year when we could eat white rice. Instead, we used to fill our stomachs with various types of grains or potatoes. The things that I enjoy today were beyond my imagination. Before I started studying music, I had a lack of confidence. Music has changed me. Music is my life and my destiny.

What are your dreams?

I currently have two jobs, as a teacher and as a singer. I want to make an even better sound. I want to be a role model for my students. They look very low-spirited these days. I hope I can instill hope and dreams in their hearts.

*Please download the music file attached below to listen to "Sewol"  


By Wi Tack-whan, Lee Seung-ah
Photos: Jeon Han
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr