KBS' 'Immortal Songs' held a festival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of public broadcasting.
The 596th episode of 'Immortal Songs', which aired on the 4th, was featured as a special feature for '50th Anniversary of Public Broadcasting', and included 'Ding Dong Dang', 'Who Doesn't Know This Person', '65.8', 'Far Away Hometown', and 'Songs That Give Happiness'. It was designed around a total of six keywords, including ‘people’ and ‘hand in hand.’ The viewership rating on this day was 6.6% nationwide and 5.9% in the metropolitan area.
The first keyword, 'Ding Dong Dang', highlighted the 'National Singing Contest', which was first broadcast on November 9, 1980. The late Song Hae, the MC of 'National Singing Contest', is a symbol of 'National Singing Contest' as he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest program host at the time of his lifetime at the age of 96. In particular, the late Song Hae, restored with digital technology, made a surprise appearance on the broadcast, stimulating both joy and longing.
Song Hae gave greetings to the viewers and the 3 MCs, including Shin Dong-yeop, Kim Jun-hyun, and Lee Chan-won. In particular, Song Hae said to Lee Chan-won, with whom she had a deep relationship by appearing on 'National Singing Contest' from elementary school to high school to college students, "You have now become a trustworthy young man. When I first met you, when I heard your name, I said, 'You shine brightly without end.' “You said it had the meaning of, right? Just like the meaning of your name, you are still shining brightly. From now on, please continue to sing a lot of our songs and become a singer who brings happiness to people,” he said. In response, Chan-won Lee pledged, “I will sing brilliantly without regret, just as the teacher said,” creating a moving feeling.
'National Singing Contest', which toured the country and met prospective stars from all over the country, is a program that produced many major stars, including Chan-won Lee, Sang-cheol Park, Young-woong Lim, Ga-in Song, Byul, and Seung-hee of Oh My Girl. Song So-hee, another star born from 'National Singing Contest', appeared on stage for the first time. Song So-hee presented the sound of authentic Korean traditional music through 'Monggeumpo Taryeong', and attracted attention by showing off the dreamy yet free aspect of an artist through her self-composed song 'Gureumgot Travel'.
The second keyword was 'Who doesn't know this person?', which was the theme of KBS' separated family search program, which was broadcast live for 138 days from June 30 to November 14, 1983. KBS's 'Searching for Separated Families', which achieved over 10,000 separated family reunions at the time, is evaluated as having discovered the value of public broadcasting by providing a time to heal the pain of division and find hope.
In particular, Seol Woon-do, who was an unknown singer, rose to stardom by singing 'The Lost 30 Years' through this program. Accordingly, Seol Woon-do performed a duet performance of ‘The Lost 30 Years’ with his junior Lee Chan-won. Seol Woon-do and Lee Chan-won sang this song about longing for family with restrained emotions, stimulating even deeper sadness. Seol Woon-do also said about this song, “It was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the song that became the hit song in the shortest period of time.” In addition, the behind-the-scenes story of how this song, which was originally a song about a fisherman father, was changed into a song about the heart of a separated family, also attracted attention. Seol Woon-do also brought the listener to tears by singing “Purple Postcard,” which tells the story of people who could not meet their families at the time writing their heartfelt letters on the wire mesh of the Imjin River.
The topic related to '65.8' was K-drama. The beginning of K-drama was pointed out through the KBS 2TV weekend drama 'First Love', which was first broadcast in 1996 and recorded the highest viewership rating of 65.8% in Korea. In addition, numerous hit dramas created by KBS were listed, bringing back memories. Jo Jo Hang-jo then performed Kim Jong-hwan's 'Reason for Existence' from the 'First Love' OST and his own song 'Finding Love, Finding Life' from the KBS 2TV weekend drama 'The Wang Family' OST. Viewers once again fell in love with the emotions of that time as this stage resonated quietly.
Minho Jang then went on stage to sing his new song ‘Shoelaces’ and sang about hope. Afterwards, Jang Min-ho, who spoke with 3MC, introduced himself as 'KBS' real son' and expressed his gratitude to KBS and the PDs. In particular, Jang Min-ho attracted attention by citing the time he stood on the KBS 'Gayo Stage' finale stage as the proudest moment of his life. Min-ho Jang also introduced the fourth keyword, 'Faraway Hometown,' and the footsteps of KBS, which created a meaningful stage for overseas compatriots and workers, were broadcast. Min-ho Jang said, “I will sing it for my overseas compatriots and workers,” and selected Na Hoon-ah’s ‘Faraway Hometown’, stimulating deep nostalgia and offering comfort.
The fifth keyword was 'a person who gives happiness', and it was the theme of KBS's comedy program that made the whole country laugh. Shim Hyeong-rae of ‘Eternal Yeonggwang’ appeared and spoke with 3MC. Shim Hyung-rae brought laughter by showing his undiminished sense of humor. Shim Hyung-rae said with a smile that among his many characters, “I like Yeong-gu the most,” and added, “Many people don’t give a bad impression every time I meet them, and they always welcome me warmly.” Shim Hyung-rae selected Ventures Orchestra's 'Guitar Man' and Hank Williams' 'Your Cheatin' Heart' and performed a comfortable and smile-inducing performance.
Following Shim Hyeong-rae, comedians Kim Won-hyo, Kim Tae-won, Lim Jae-baek, Kim Won-hoon, and Jo Jin-se performed as Sunflower's 'The Giver of Happiness'. The five comedians each showed off their own characters. Kim Won-hyo played Seo Tai-ji, Kim Tae-won played Lee Young-ja, Lim Jae-baek played Park Chan-ho, Kim Won-hoon played Song Seung-heon, and Jo Jin-se played Bong Joon-ho. They captured attention by creating a warm stage with high-quality harmony and singing skills.
The last keyword was ‘hand in hand’. KBS's records from the 1988 Olympics met viewers. Coreana Lee Ae-sook was present and once again conveyed the true meaning of ‘Hand in Hand’ and conveyed the emotions of that time. In particular, Lee Ae-sook received applause when she said of Koreana, “I wore the Taegeukgi and acted as a public relations ambassador when I didn’t know where Korea was.” In addition, he said, “In Europe, Koreana was called ‘Asian Abba,’” and that they recorded good results on foreign music charts.
A corps of musical actors Choi Jeong-won, Shin Young-sook, Son Jun-ho and Min Woo-hyuk sang Kim Yeon-ja's 'In the Land of the Morning' and performed 'Hand in Hand' with Koreana's Lee Ae-sook. They heated up the stage with beautiful harmony and dynamic energy, celebrating the glory of the 1988 Olympics and the past 50 years of KBS.
This special feature commemorated the joys and sorrows that KBS shared with viewers over its 50-year history as a public broadcaster. ‘National Singing Contest’ that produced major stars and the late Song Hae, ‘Searching for Separated Families’ that made many people cry, the beginning of K-drama that made its way to the world stage, stages with overseas compatriots and workers, and the people’s hearts on the comedy stage. Comedy programs that made everyone laugh, the glorious history of KBS along with the 1988 Olympics was once again recalled.
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr