Folk singer says 'bring back hippies' to solve COVID-19 problems

Hahn Dae-soo poses in Seoul with his daughter Michelle. / Courtesy of Cho Sang-ho

Hahn Dae-soo returns to Korea for 'final album'

By Jon Dunbar

Legendary Korean folk rocker Hahn Dae-soo returned to his homeland recently to record and release what he promises will be his final album, "Blue Skies White Clouds," on Nov. 14.

He came here with his Russian-American wife and their teenage daughter, leaving behind their New York home with no definite plans to return.

"I'm 72 now, and once again I am at the epicenter of a pandemic ― always at the epicenter," he told The Korea Times in an interview.

"So this is what was happening from March. Everybody is scared to death. I go out and get milk, coffee, meat, whatever; I just go early in the morning. And I did that for five, six months. It's getting better ― New York is now kind of controlled. Not like Seoul ― Seoul is the best."

He derided American pop stars for releasing songs encouraging people to come together and painting a rosy picture of the U.S. pandemic response, calling them "totally ridiculous."

"They're singing these sweet songs that they're going to win this pandemic or whatever," he said. "My attitude is this pandemic was created by us. One of the two reasons, or maybe both, one is we've polluted the Earth, the plants, the animals, the water and the air, because of our very bad lifestyle for the past 50 years, throwing stuff away, the rivers, the sea, plastic. Second theory is it was created in a lab as a biological weapon. So no matter what it's our fault."

"So I'm looking at these people singing about it ― we're not gonna get it together, no," he said. "We're gonna get it together if we behave differently, properly."

Hahn Dae-soo in New York / Courtesy of Cheong Young-hun

It may sound ironic, the man infamous for being "Korea's first hippie," who caused a scandal when he admitted to smoking marijuana in an article in 1968, whose career in Korea was ended in 1975 when government censors blacklisted him, and who self-exiled to New York where he started a post-punk band that played at CBGB's.

On his latest album, he encourages people to cooperate with government efforts to contain COVID-19 in the song "Wear a Mask," featuring American expat musician Seth Mountain singing and plucking the banjo.

Hahn Dae-soo records his 15th album in Seoul with U.S. expat folk musician Seth Mountain. / Courtesy of Chun Ho-won

"These are all very tragic things we're going through, and my personal feeling is we're gonna go through this for quite a while," he said.

"What kills me most is my daughter who's 13 years old. I see her, I say 'What did I do to her generation?' So I feel so guilty and so bad, so I came up with the song 'Pain Pain Pain.'"

The song kicks off the album, with Hahn and a chorus chanting "Pain Pain Pain" before kicking into a blues-rock song.

"These are the pains that we created, the pain that we're going through because we created it," he said. "To get rid of this pain, there's only one answer and one vaccine: bring back the hippies. Peace and love, brothers! Why? Look at us. We're not loving each other at all ― actually we're hating each other. So this is going to continue the pandemic, in my opinion. So that's what 'Pain Pain Pain' is all about."

The mood changes for the next song, also inspired by his experiences during the pandemic, "Mexican Wife," a jazzy ballad in which he laments, "I need a wife, a Mexican wife, who can make me tacos."

Back in New York, he said he lived in a neighborhood with a large Latino population, and he could buy $1 tacos from food trucks.

But while quarantining with his wife and daughter on returning to Korea, he said they turned to him for food.

"My wife does not cook. She's a Russian lady ― beautiful lady ― she sews and cleans but no cooking," he said. "So I think of these Mexican ladies, 'Hey Dae-soo, que pasa, what's up' and it's so nice. So I'm thinking about how easy it was before."

Hahn Dae-soo wears a mask in a cafe in Seoul during a Korea Times interview, Nov. 4. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Although he has insisted this will be his last album, he's not ready to retire from music. So there's no need to despair for fans of his wonderfully gravelly voice, which might be best compared with Louis Armstrong's, who Hahn affectionately calls "Satchmo."

"I realize my limitation of writing and composing. Concerts yes, if my voice holds, but even this is also very iffy," he said.

"Musicians who play guitar or saxophone, they can do it forever, until their fingers, you know. But creating music such as writing songs or composing, even for classical musicians, there's a limitation of creativity. It has a lot to do with brain cells and experiences you go through, because the canvas of your heart is blackened out, no more room left. I've been through so much that I'm not naive anymore. See, songs come out when you're naive, when you're clean in your heart."

"Blue Skies White Clouds," his 15th album, is available on Melon, Genie, Bugs, FLO, Soribada and Naver Vibe.

"I'm no Neil Young ― Mr. Young has a lot of cash and is supported by global companies," he said. "I had to do it all by my own, so I said I can't afford to do this again because of my child. She needs my attention."