Seo Taiji
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Jeong Hyeon-cheol (
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, he rose to become one of the most prominent and influential cultural icons in South Korea, with many referring to him as "the President of Culture". Following a brief stint in the heavy metal band
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 ...
, Taiji formed
Seo Taiji and Boys () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
in 1991 with whom he found immediate success. Their style of music, dance, fashion, and self-presentation resonated with the young generation—termed the sinsedae, "new generation." They incorporated elements of popular musical genres from the West and contributed considerably larger to Korean
pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...
and
Korean pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
's development in the 1990s. His songs addressed social and political concerns of the youth including the stressful and stifling system of education in Korea, and the rage of youth in the face of poor social and economic outlook. Widespread youth backlash to government suppression of the social commentary in his music became a catalyst for the abolishment of censorship of Korean popular music lyrics. His career paved the way for free expression in Korean pop music. Although he initially announced retirement upon disbanding the group in 1996, Taiji released his first solo album two years later and continued his successful career.


Biography


Early career with Sinawe

At an early age, Jeong Hyeon-cheol had a fascination with music. At 14, he participated in several amateur rock bands. He took the stage name of "Seo Taiji" at age 17, when he was recruited into the heavy metal band
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 ...
as bass guitarist by
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 ...
. He chose to drop out of school because he felt that continuing to be enrolled in school would not be useful in pursuing a career in music.


Seo Taiji and Boys: 1992–1996

Seo Taiji and Boys was a seminal South Korean boy band. Although also including
Yang Hyun-suk Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...
and
Lee Juno () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful an ...
, Taiji was the leader and main songwriter and began his signature of mixing many different genres of music. They had several controversies with songs and lyrics, but became the first modern highly successful band in the South Korean music industry. The popularity of their music marked a departure from the trot style of music that previously dominated Korea's popular music scene.


Solo career: 1998–present


1998: ''Seo Tai Ji''

Two years after Seo Taiji and Boys' retirement, Taiji resumed his career as a musician and solo act, which has been and continues to be successful. He sought to return to his true roots and perform rock music. Without any appearances or activity in South Korea, he released an album with a couple of music videos in 1998. There was some controversy over his sudden reversal of retirement, but his first Solo album ''
Seo Tai Ji Jeong Hyeon-cheol (Korean: 정현철; born February 21, 1972), better known as Seo Taiji or Seo Tae-ji (서태지), is a South Korean singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, ...
'' sold more than a million copies, even without any promotion in Korea. His first solo work included heavy metal and
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
songs, but the main genre was still
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
. Although it was his first solo work, fans refer to it as his 5th album.


2000–2001: ''Ultramania''

In 2000, he returned to South Korea after a four-year absence. On the day of his arrival at the Kimpo International Airport in Seoul, the entire airport had been crowded by thousands of fans and media trying to get the first look at Seo Taiji. He released the album ''
Ultramania ''Ultramania'' is the second studio album by Korean musician Seo Taiji. Although it is the second solo album by Seo, some refer to it as his sixth counting the four albums released by Seo Taiji and Boys. The album, with its nu metal sound, has sold ...
'' which consisted of nu metal and
Hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
. His solo act had an effect on many South Korean boy bands such as
H.O.T. H.O.T. (; pronounced "H. O. T.", acronym for Highfive Of Teenagers) was a South Korean boy band that was created by SM Entertainment in 1996. They are considered to be the first K-pop ''idol group'' and their successful formula became the model ...
and caused them to decline in popularity. His songs "Internet War" and "Ultramania" were the biggest hits of the year. After the first
ETPFEST ETP Fest or ETP Festival is one of the biggest rock music festivals in South Korea founded by rock singer Seo Taiji. ETP stands for Eerie Taiji People.hide of
X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...
's Fernandes MG-360S guitar, which is yellow with pink hearts, by hide's parents and his brother, Hiroshi, to celebrate the success of ETPFEST and the first hide showcase tribute ever at a Korean rock festival.


2004: ''7th Issue''

Seo Taiji maintained his
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
sound in his third solo album, ''
7th Issue ''7th Issue'' is the third studio album by the Korean musician Seo Taiji and his seventh counting the four albums released by Seo Taiji and Boys. The album was a commercial success as the best-selling album of the year in South Korea, with 482,06 ...
''. However, unlike ''Ultramania'', ''7th Issue'' was recorded mostly on a dropped C tuning, which gave the effect of the album sounding like one long song. Nevertheless, it had no problem attracting attention to a wide range of audiences. ''7th Issue's'' catchy rock tune made his fans call it " punk rock". Also, he obviously added
Drum and Bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
sound into his several songs, so that it proved him to be a favorable electronica musician (skills he learned from producing the "Seo Taiji and Boys" albums). J from
Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most success ...
also participated in the making of this album as the bassist. His song "Live Wire" was a good hit succeeding the vivacity of "Ultramania". "Robot" deals with his youth and anguish, while the song "F.M.Business" acrimoniously criticize the issues of and the commercialized music business and the artist exploitation from greedy corporate record labels. He also touches on the issue of abortion along with sexism and sexual assault with the song, "Victim". His record sale was reduced to a half million due to on-line downloading services, but was still the highest selling record of 2004 in South Korea. Taiji proved himself to be a musician in top popularity for more than a decade. After being active up to 2005, he once again suddenly disappeared out of the spotlight.


2008–2009: ''8th Atomos''

Seo returned to
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
after a long absence, and revealed his latest single "Moai". It was the first release of Seo Taiji's ambitious 3-part "mystery project", which was followed by another single, "Bermuda Triangle" which was put up as a digital single. The third part, Atomos Part Secret, was released on March 10. He had a promotion called "Missing Taiji", where there were false rumors that Taiji went missing, only to return on the "Wormhole" concert day. In his single "Moai", Taiji reinvents his sound, and introduces a new experimental style he calls "nature pound". "Moai" draws inspiration from the mysterious statues of
Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
which had long fascinated him since his childhood. He performed at the 2008
ETPFEST ETP Fest or ETP Festival is one of the biggest rock music festivals in South Korea founded by rock singer Seo Taiji. ETP stands for Eerie Taiji People.The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Stei ...
,
Dragon Ash is a Japanese rap rock group founded in 1996 by Kenji "KJ" Furuya and Sakurai Makoto. They were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. Dragon Ash is a member of Mob Squad, which is an affiliation with the bands Source and En ...
,
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...
and
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
. Seo also put together "The Great Seotaiji Symphony" with
Tolga Kashif Tolga Kashif (Tolga Kaşif) (born 1962) is a British born musical conductor, composer, orchestrator, producer and arranger of Turkish Cypriot descent. Early life Turkish-Cypriot Tolga Kashif was born in London. Before going on to further educati ...
and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
to perform his old hits and new songs presented in an entirely new form, combining rock and classical music. The main concert was held at the
Seoul World Cup Stadium The Seoul World Cup Stadium (), also known as Sangam Stadium, is a stadium used mostly for association football matches. The venue is located in 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opene ...
. After the main concert, there were complaints about the sound quality not being delivered to the second and third floors at the further ends of the stadium and to make up for this mistake, another encore performance (same setlist) was held in December at a closed/indoor venue,
Jamsil Gymnasium Jamsil Arena (), also known as Jamsil Indoor Stadium, is an indoor sporting arena. It is part of Seoul Sports Complex, located in Seoul, South Korea. The capacity of the arena is 11,069 for basketball and was built from December 1976 to April 19 ...
upgraded with better sound systems. Seo's second single, following Atomos Part Moai, called Atomos Part Secret was released on March 10, 2009. It is the same date as the arrival of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to Mars in 2006. Taiji also held a concert promoting his second single on March 14 and 15. Tickets for the concert, cryptically titled Wormhole, sold out in just 20 minutes. Seo's 15th anniversary album consisted of most of his works so far, re-recorded and re-mastered but it was released in a limited edition with only 15,000 copies available, each with unique serial numbers. Serial numbers #1–15 were purchased by Seotaiji himself. He kept No. 1 for himself, gave No. 2 and No. 3 to his old time friends
Lee Juno () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful an ...
and
Yang Hyun Suk Yang Hyun-suk (born January 9, 1970) is a South Korean music executive, rapper, dancer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of Seo Taiji and Boys during the 1990s. After the group disbanded, he founded and became the Ex ...
, and the rest to his close friends. Since the re-recorded and re-mastered songs were only available for the limited anniversary album and not all the fans were able to purchase it, he decided to re-release all the albums with the containing the new versions. On April 3, the first two
Seo Taiji and Boys () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
Albums were rereleased. Taiji will rerelease all 7 of his albums, from Nan Arayo! to 7th Issue. On May 25, the 3rd and 4th
Seo Taiji and Boys () was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
albums were rereleased. On June 13, Seo held a nationwide tour named "The Möbius". The first of the concerts was held in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
,
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 ...
. The tour has ended, but a repeat performance was given 2 months after the finish.
ETPFEST ETP Fest or ETP Festival is one of the biggest rock music festivals in South Korea founded by rock singer Seo Taiji. ETP stands for Eerie Taiji People.NIN,
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
, Keane,
Fade Fade or Fading may refer to: Science and technology * Fading, a loss of signal strength at a radio receiver * Color fade, the alteration of color by light * Fade (audio engineering), a gradual change in sound volume * Brake fade, in vehicle brakin ...
,
Boom Boom Satellites were a Japanese electronic music duo consisting of guitarist and vocalist Michiyuki Kawashima and bassist and programmer Masayuki Nakano. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan, with whom they had released all of their albums in Japa ...
, Pia and GUMX.


2014–2015: ''Quiet Night''

In 2013, Seo Taiji announced that he had been working on a new album. The first single from the new album, "Sogyeokdong", was released in October 2014. The single was released in two parts: first part, a collaboration with IU, was released October 2, and the second part on October 10. The album, '' Quiet Night'', was released on October 20.


2017–present: ''Seo Taiji 25 Project''

In April 2017 it was announced that Seo Taiji was assembling a group of modern K-Pop acts to cover songs from his past to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his debut with Seo Taiji and Boys. The first act announced for the project was
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
, with other acts including
Urban Zakapa Urban Zakapa () is a South Korean R&B singer-songwriter group formed in 2009 by Fluxus Music. Originally a 9-member group, in 2012 they became a trio, consisting of Park Yong-in, Jo Hyunah and Kwon Soon-il. The group's name is an abbreviation fo ...
and
Younha Go Youn-ha (Hangul: 고윤하, Hanja: 高潤荷; born April 29, 1988), known mononymously as Younha, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer. She began her career in 2004 in Japan, where she was nicknamed the "Oricon Comet" for h ...
. The first single from this project, a cover of "Come Back Home" (from '' Seo Taiji and Boys IV'') recorded by BTS, was released with a music video on July 5, 2017. The next song, a cover of "Moai" (from ''Atomos''), was released on July 11, performed by Urban Zakapa.


Personal life

On April 21, 2011, ''Sports Seoul'' broke the story (later confirmed by numerous media outlets) that Seo Taiji had secretly married actress
Lee Ji-ah Kim Sang-eun (; born August 6, 1978), known professionally as Lee Ji-ah, is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame with her role in the television drama'' The Legend'' (2007), and has since further participated in ''Beethoven Virus'' (2008), ...
(real name Kim Sang-eun) from October 12, 1997, until August 9, 2006. Their union was kept secret because both Seo and Lee notoriously kept their personal lives hidden from the media. Since the shocking news of Seo and Lee's past union, some have speculated that this was the reason why Lee's past had been undetectable. The couple first met in 1993, and after Seo temporarily retired in 1996, they got married in 1997 and lived in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, until Seo's return to Korea in June 2000. They were separated since the return. Lee filed for divorce in the U.S. in 2006, citing both lifestyle and personality differences. According to Seo, the divorce was finalized in 2006, which Lee disputed, stating it had been 2009. In January 2011, Lee sued Seo for of her share of matrimonial properties and in
alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial suppo ...
, and court papers caused their relationship to go public in April. Seo's estimated worth at the time was reported between ($35–44 million US). After a six-month lawsuit, an out-of-court settlement was reached on the alimony and division of assets in July 2011. In August 2014, Seo released a statement denying several of Lee's claims about their marriage when she made a guest appearance on the talk show ''
Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy ''Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy'' (), or simply known as ''Healing Camp'', is a South Korean talk show which began airing on July 18, 2011, on SBS. It is hosted by comedian Lee Kyung-kyu, broadcaster Kim Je-dong, and actress Sung Yu-ri. The pr ...
''. Seo married actress
Lee Eun-sung Lee Eun-sung (Hangul: 이은성; born August 8, 1988) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in the youth drama ''Sharp'', followed by roles in the television series ''Evasive Inquiry Agency'' (2007), and the films ''Dasepo Naughty ...
on June 26, 2013, at Seo's newly built home in affluent
Pyeongchang-dong Pyeongchang-dong is a ''dong (neighbourhood), dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. Sometimes called the "Beverly Hills of Seoul" (a title shared with but more prominently held by the Gangnam District), due to it being a pref ...
in northern Seoul (he used to live in Yeonhui-dong), with only family members present. They met in 2008 when Lee appeared in the music video for "Bermuda Triangle" (on Seo's eighth album), and began dating in late 2009. Their first child, a daughter, was born on August 27, 2014.


Seo Taiji Band

Although Taiji now works as a "solo" artist, the following musicians consistently play with him during tours, studio recordings, and music videos. Some of them belong to other bands, but they participated in recording and performances for a short period of time.: *Top (Ahn Seong-hoon) – lead guitar *Rock (Choi Chang-rok) – rhythm guitar *Sang Uk (Monkey) – bass *Heff "The Machine" Holter – drums *Kim Seok-jung (김석중) – keyboards/programming/samples/arrangement for Seo's 8th album *Kang Joon-hyung (강준형) – bass for Seo's 8th and 9th albums. He normally works with the band "A'ccel in a story". *Choi Hyun-jin (최현진) – drums for Seo's 8th and 9th albums. He normally works with the band "Vassline" *Doc Skim (닥스킴) – keyboards for Seo's 9th album


Discography


Studio albums


Live releases

* ''Seotaiji Band Live Album 2000/2001'' (2001) * '' 6th Album Re-recording & ETPFEST Live'' (2003) * ''Seotaiji Live Tour Zero '04'' (2005) * ''The Great Seotaiji Symphony'' (2009) * ''2009 Seotaiji Band Live Tour he Möbius' (2010)


Singles and EPs

* ''Feel the Soul'' (2001, Single) (Japan-exclusive) * ''8th Atomos Part Moai'' (2008, EP) * ''8th Atomos Part Secret'' (2009, EP)


DVD

* ''Seo Taiji Live Tour '2000–2001: The Taiji Speaks'' (2001) * ''Seo Taiji Live Tour Zero '04 DVD + Art Book'' (2004) * ''2004 Seo Taiji Record of the 7th'' (2005) * ''The Shedding Bird: Seo Taiji Company DVD + Art Book'' (2005) * ''The Great 2008 Seotaiji Symphony with Tolga Kashif & Royal Philharmonic'' (2010) * ''Seotaiji Live Tour: The Möbius'' (2011) * ''ETP Festival 08 09 Seo Taiji'' (2013)


Blu-ray

* ''The Great 2008 Seotaiji Symphony with Tolga Kashif & Royal Philharmonic'' (2010) * ''Atomos: The Film'' (2011) * ''Seotaiji Live Tour: The Möbius'' (2011) * ''Seo Taiji Record of The 8th 398'' (2012)


Box sets

* '' Seotaiji 15th Anniversary Album Box Set'' (2007)


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seo, Taiji 1972 births Living people Musicians from Seoul Nu metal singers Singers from Seoul South Korean pop rock singers South Korean record producers South Korean rock musicians South Korean bass guitarists South Korean guitarists MAMA Award winners Multi-instrumentalists Male bass guitarists 21st-century South Korean male singers 21st-century bass guitarists