Kim Soo-chul (; born April 7, 1957) is a South Korean singer, musician, and composer. He began his career in the late 1970s as a rock singer and musician, later releasing "modernized"

traditional Korean music Korea refers to music from the Korean peninsula ranging from prehistoric times to the division of Korea into South and North in 1945. It includes court music, folk music, poetic songs, and religious music used in shamanistic and Buddhist traditi ...

, and composing numerous

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

Early life

Kim Soo-chul was born on April 7, 1957 in South Korea. When Soo-chul was young, he loved to play many instruments and practiced ten hours a day. While in high school, he performed with the trio Fire Fox. In 1977, he was accepted to Kwangwoon University, where he formed the quartet "Little Big Man", with fellow students Kim Jang Won-mo (bass), Choir Soo-ill (drums), and Keung-Sung (keyboards). In 1978, as "Little Big Man", he attended a national college campus festival contest conference and received the grand prize with the song, "Seven Colored Rainbow." Because of this, the group "Little Big Man", became known to the public. Kim Soo-chul and his group members played a high-energy fusion of rock, jazz, folk, and soul music. In 1981, "Little Big Man" disbanded following their graduation.

Career

1983–1984: Best Signer of the Year

After "Little Big Man" disbanded, Soo-chul worked for his career as a soloist. He released his debut solo album, Little Giant, in August 1983. The album included the songs, "The One Flower That Could Not Bloom" and "I Will Not Fall in Love Again". By this album, the Korean Broadcasting System named him Best Singer of the Year in 1984, and won 16 other prizes.

1987–1990: Success and failure

Soo-chul composed the traditional dance piece "The World of Spirits" in 1987. It was performed by dance troupe Kim Hun Hee, and won the grand prize at the ninth annual Korean Dance Festival. After receiving the prize, Soo-chul was inspired to record his first album of traditional music. The album was a major flop. However, label Seoul Records, which Soo-chul was included, stopped distribution because it failed to sell more than 200 copies. After the failure, he tried to record additional traditional albums, but none of them produced a good result.

1990–present: Purpose

During 1990 he toured with a stage show, Guitar Sanjo, that combined his electric guitar playing with a traditional group. In 2002, he released a Korea-Japan World Cup opening song in 2002. Even though he received many hardships, he continued to work for his goal which was "to introduce the sound of traditional Korean music to a global audience."

Discography

* ''Sori for Invocation'' * ''Tae-Baek-San-Maek'' * ''Guitar Sanjo'' (2002, Living Sound Productions)

Film Scores

* ''Whale Hunting (고래사냥)'' (1984), in which he also starred. * ''The Dirty Mob (중광의 허튼소리)'' (a.k.a. ''Nonsense of Jung-Kwang'', 1986) * ''Place in the Sun'' (1988) * ''

Chilsu and Mansu ''Chilsu and Mansu'' () is a 1988 South Korean film, and noted director Park Kwang-su's debut film. Though not a box-office hit (only attracting 73,751 people in theatres), the film is remembered as a major step towards freedom of expression in Sou ...

'' (1988) * ''

Black Republic ''Black Republic'' (; lit. "They Also Are Like Us") is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Park Kwang-su. Plot A social drama about a young student activist who hides from the authorities by working in a small mining town. Cast *Moon Sung-keun a ...

'' (1990) * '' Silver Stallion'' (1991) * ''Kyongmachang Kanungil'' (1992) * ''

Sopyonje ''Seopyeonje'' ( Hanja: 西便制) is a 1993 South Korean musical drama film directed by Im Kwon-taek, based on the novel of the same name by Yi Chong-jun. It tells the story of a family of traditional Korean pansori singers trying to make a living ...

'' (1993) * ''

The Taebaek Mountains ''The Taebaek Mountains'' () is a 1994 South Korean film directed by Im Kwon-taek. Plot The film originates from the great river story ''Taebaegsanmaek'' consisting of 10 volumes written by Cho Jeong-rae. The story describes generational conflict ...

'' (1994) * ''My Dear Keum-hong (금홍아 금홍아)'' (1995), in which he also starred. * ''

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

'' (1996) * '' Downfall'' (1997) * ''

Blades of Blood ''Blades of Blood'' (; lit. "Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds") is a 2010 South Korean action drama film directed by Lee Joon-ik. The film is based on Park Heung-yong's graphic novel ''Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds''. Plot In the ...

'' (2010) * ''Hanji'' (2011), directed by

Im Kwon-taek Im Kwon-taek (born December 8, 1934) is one of South Korea's most renowned film directors. In an active and prolific career, his films have won many domestic and international film festival awards as well as considerable box-office success, and h ...

Additional titles are listed i
Imdb.com entry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Soo-Chul 1957 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) South Korean rock musicians South Korean Buddhists Best New Actor Paeksang Arts Award (film) winners