“It is culture and emotion that saves the world in the future.” Im Jin-Mo, a critic, said throughout the lecture. Im Jin-Mo, a master of Korean music criticism, has walked his way silently in the belief that "what is really needed in Korea is music." He discussed K-pop and rapidly changing music trends spreading throughout the world and presented the value of emotion and culture that modern people should have.

On May 17th, a lecture on the theme of “K-pop, the value of communication and passion” was held at Saebyeokbeol Library of Pusan National University (PNU). Critic Im, a famous music critic and founder of the music review magazine “izm,” took the stage.

■The value of music that connects people

Critic Im began his lecture with six pictures of idols. He asked the audience to guess who the person in the picture was, but most of them could not get the right answer. He said that the change in music these days is so fast that even he cannot keep up with it. He said, “If you don’t know all these groups, it means you don’t care about the world. It is okay if you don’t know. You can get to know them from now on.” It is important to have an attitude of understanding and learning in a rapidly changing society.

He emphasized that it is the power of culture and emotion which helps understanding between generations. The older generation, which pushes passion into the standard, does not understand the “reality that passion does not exist.” He said, "As we did with our parents, every generation experiences differences from the older generation. It will be hard for the generation living in the world now."

Critic Im, who overcame this generation gap with music, cited his mother as the "highlight" of his life when he talked about music. His parents were uneducated but only liked songs, so he lost track of time talking about it with them. Sharing the songs of the same era, he could overcome the generation gap that seemed far away with music. He said, "The new music may seem embarrassing, but this is natural in the flow of time. You can catch up as much as you want. Understanding and empathizing, open up a new world,” he encouraged the audience.

■The Condition of Success found in Cho Yong-Pil and BTS

He also emphasized that singer Cho Yong-Pil constantly challenged himself without fear of change until he was called the "King of Singers." His " self-innovation " made Cho Yong-Pil, who had been in obscurity for seven years, the king of singers.

In the past, Cho Yong-Pil made his name with the song “Come Back on Busan Harbor” for the first time, but at the same time, controversy over cannabis had arisen. If a celebrity is embroiled in the cannabis controversy, his career in the entertainment industry is practically over. It was enough for ordinary people to fall into frustration, but Cho Yong-Pil practiced hard with his life on the line during his two-and-a-half years of self-reflection. Critic Im said, "After his painstaking practices under Jo Tongdal, the master pansori singer in Korea, the present singing style was born. This led Cho Yong-Pil to enter the road of the King of Singers."

Critic Im recalled the conversation with Cho Yong-Pil at the time of the release of his 19th album, “Hello.” Cho Yong-Pil prepared the 19th album with the intention of throwing away all the existing styles and making songs for the younger generation only. He said, "At that time, Cho Yong-Pil was preparing for the 19th album and worked hard to die for a challenge that he had never done before.” He continued, adding, “The words that he felt that there was still a “young Cho Yong-Pil” in him as he tried are still thrilling."

He ended his lecture by talking about the efforts of BTS. It took endless efforts for BTS, who debuted as a hip-hop boy group, to become the top idols in the world. In order to catch up with other idols who have been practicing since childhood, BTS has devoted 13 hours every day for a year and a half. Critic Im emphasized, "The driving force of success is passion. At the end of that passion, a great human is born." 

Reporter Jo Seung-Wan

Translated by Kwon Eun-Ji