Kim Tae-won (, April 12, 1965) is a

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

with over 30 years of experience in Korean

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, currently leading one of the most successful rock bands in Korean music history,

Boohwal Boohwal ( ko, "부활", lit=Born Again, is a South Korean rock band, formed in 1985 by the lead guitarist/songwriter Kim Tae-won. History Formation and the 1980s Kim Tae-won changed the name of the group from "The End" to "부활" ("Boohwal ...

. His life was dramatised in a four episode

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

short series '' Rock, Rock, Rock'', where Kim was portrayed by musician-actor

No Minwoo No Min-woo (; born May 29, 1986) is a South Korean actor, musician, singer and songwriter. He is also known under the stage names ICON and MINUE. He debuted as a drummer in TRAX in 2004, and left the band two years later. In 2008, he began act ...

Adolescence

He was a talented

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

player, having achieved the level of 300 points as a highschool senior. His guitar skill was even more outstanding: He is said to have been able to play proficiently the guitar riff in

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

’s “

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is a folk song written by Anne Bredon in the late 1950s. Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes song ...

” in

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

and the guitar solo of (towards the end of the song) Deep Purple's " Highway Star" at a much faster speed than normal. He slowly rose to fame among fellow students in the

Seodaemun Seodaemun District (, "Great West Gate") is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Seodaemun has a population of 313,814 (2010) and has a geographic area of 17.61 km2 (6.8 sq mi), and is divided into 14 '' dong'' (administrative neigh ...

area, his home town. He was called “the best guitarist everybody knows”.

Career

At 20, he started a

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

called "The End" with two colleagues, one of whom was Kim Jong-Seo who later left the band to join the then more established rock act

Sinawe Sinawe ( ko, 시나위) is a heavy metal/rock band from South Korea. Led by guitarist and sole constant member Shin Daechul, they are credited as being the first heavy metal band in South Korea. During its golden age in the late 1980s and mid 199 ...

. With The End, he performed covers of western rock songs for audiences in various places in Korea. It was when Jong-Seo joined that the band changed its name into "Boohwal", which means resurrection in Korean. After Jong-Seo left the band, Lee Seung-Cheol joined as new lead vocalist and they gained huge success with their first hit number, "Heeya (희야)." Together with Sinawe leader

Shin Daechul Shin Daechul ( ko, 신대철) is a South Korean musician and songwriter. He is best known as leader and guitarist of Sinawe, who are considered one of the first heavy metal bands in South Korea. He is the son of Shin Jung-hyeon, who is often c ...

and Baekdoosan's Kim Do Kyun, Tae-won worked on the guitar musical project D.O.A. and released the album ''Dead or Alive'' in 2003.

Personal life

In 2011, Kim was diagnosed with stomach cancer. In one of Qualifications of Men episodes the member had to testing for cancer, but unfortunately Kim's results were positive. Kim Tae Won underwent surgery to remove the tumor on the 16th of January, and underwent another one on the 22nd. All of the tumors have been removed successfully, he is now completely cured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Tae-won 1965 births South Korean rock guitarists Living people People from Seoul Musicians from Seoul Singers from Seoul