Yun Sim-deok (; 25 July 1897 – 4 August 1926) was a Korean singer. She was the country's first professional

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

Life and career

Yun was born in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

in 1897. She studied at the Pyongyang Girls' Middle and High Schools, and graduated from Kyongsong Women's Teaching College in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

in 1914. After graduation she became a primary school teacher in

Wonju Wonju () is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. Wonju was the site of three crucial battles during the Korean War. Geography Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangw ...

. After teaching for one year, Yun went to Japan, becoming the first Korean to study at the Tokyo Music School. In Japan, she met and fell in love with a married English literature student, Kim U-jin (Hangul: 김우진), with whom she had an affair. After graduating from music school, Yun returned to Korea, where she made her debut as a soprano in 1923. Though audiences were impressed by her powerful voice, she was unable to make a living performing Western classical music, and became a pop singer and actress to support herself. Yun and Kim U-jin committed suicide together in 1926, jumping off a passenger ship en route from Simonoseki to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

. The shocking news caused a sensation in Korea, and Yun's 1926 recording of "Hymn of Death" (Hangul: 사의 찬미; also called "Death Song") sold a record 100,000 copies following her death.

Legacy

Yun's most famous recording, 1926's "Hymn of Death," is considered the first "popular" ''( yuhaeng changga)'' Korean song. It was recorded in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

by the Japanese Nitto recording company, with Yun's sister accompanying her on piano. The song is set to the tune of " Waves of the Danube" by Ion Ivanovici. Two films have been made about Yun. The first, a 1969 film titled ''Yun Sim-Deok,'' was directed by An Hyeon-cheol (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: 안현철) and starred Moon Hee. The second was a 1991 film called '' Death Song,'' directed by Kim Ho-sun and starring Chang Mi-hee. The film won numerous awards in

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 ...

, including Best Film at the 1991

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by '' Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popu ...

and the 1991 Chunsa Film Art Awards. A television series was also made in 2018 titled ''

The Hymn of Death ''The Hymn of Death'' () is a 2018 South Korean television miniseries based on true events, starring Lee Jong-suk and Shin Hye-sun. It aired on SBS from November 27 to December 4, 2018, and is available on Netflix worldwide. Synopsis The ser ...

''.

Gallery

Yun Sim-deok 01.jpg Yun Sim-deok 02.jpg Yun Sim-deok 03.jpg Youn Shim-Deok.jpg

Actresses who played Yun Sim-deok

* Portrayed by Moon Hee in the 1969 film ''Yun Sim-Deok''. * Portrayed by Chang Mi-hee in the 1991 film '' Death Song''. * Portrayed by

Shin Hye-sun Shin Hye-sun (born 31 August 1989) is a South Korean actress. She made her debut in the television series '' School 2013''. In 2017, Shin played her first leading role and became well known in the weekend drama, ''My Golden Life'', which garner ...

in the 2018 SBS TV series ''

''.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yun, Sim-Deok 1897 births 1926 suicides Korean women singers Korean songwriters Korean stage actresses People from Pyongyang Suicides by drowning Suicides in Japan 20th-century Korean actresses