Yoon Bok-Hee (윤복희, 尹福姬, March 9, 1946 - ) is a South Korean singer, musical actress, and songwriter. Her father is Yoon Bu-gil, a popular comedian and her mother is Sung Kyung-ja, a well known classical ballerina. She is known for being an early adopter of the
miniskirt in
South Korea in the 1960s and for her songs "Everyone" and "I'll Follow You".
Career
She debuted in 1951 at age five with the ''Nak-Rang Music Troupe'' in the Joong-Ang Theatre.
Her first oversea was Manila and Guam in early 60th.
Stage performances
She performed on stage in musical theatre and was an Ambassador for the Musical Festival.
In 2006, she starred in ''Maria, Maria'' which premiered at the
New York Musical Theatre Festival on September 22 through October 15,
and was one of the original twenty-five member Korean musical cast which won four awards including the Best Musical, the Best Actress, the Best Book & Lyrics and the Best Composing awards at the
Korean Musical Awards in 2004.
The popular musical, a story about religious fanatics trying to kill Jesus and a local prostitute Maria, continued its run for over twelve years, showing at the
Geochang International Festival of Theater, KIFT in 2014, and included performances by actress Lee So-jung, the first Korean actress to debut on
Broadway in the 1990s.
Concerts
On May 3, 2014, she performed with many other popular Korean entertainers at the
12th Korea Times Music Festival in the United States, just weeks after the national tragedy, the
Sinking of MV Sewol
The ferry MV ''Sewol'' sank on the morning of April 16, 2014, en route from Incheon towards Jeju in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST (23:58 UTC, April 15, 2014). Out of ...
, and thousands of yellow commemorative ribbons were passed out to the audience.
Korean Kittens
Yoon Bok-hee was the leader of the Korean Kittens that toured with
Bob Hope and the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
to American Army
Vietnam War bases in 1966. The Korean Kittens went international in 1964 after being on the
BBC television's ''
Tonight programme'' in
Great Britain, singing ''
Can’t Buy Me Love
"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in March 1964 as the A-side of their sixth single. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was included o ...
'' by the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
. On January 6, 1967 they arrived in the
United States to tour. Many compared them to
The Kim Sisters
The Kim Sisters were a Korean-born American female singing group who made their career in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. They are known for being the first South Korean music group to achieve success in the U.S. market, and for per ...
the other Korean girl group. Korean Kittens' US shows included ''
The Reg Varney Revue'' in 1972, ''
The Mike Douglas Show'' in 1967, ''
The Bob Hope Vietnam Christmas Show'' in 1966 and The Wahlparty 65 TV Special in 1965.
londonkoreanlinks.net Yoon Bok-hee: a Korean Kitten in Kingston, by Philip Gowman, 17 Jun 2009
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoon, Bok-Hee
1946 births
Living people
People from Boryeong
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean film actresses
South Korean film score composers
South Korean jazz singers
South Korean lyricists
South Korean musical theatre actresses
South Korean Protestants
United Service Organizations entertainers