 Korean-Japanese singer Lee Jeong-mi, 51, recently released her first album in Korea. She will perform for Korean fans in April. / Courtesy of Seo Jun-young |
By Han Sang-heeStaff Reporter
Singing is a great way to share one's memories and thoughts, and for Lee Jeong-mi, it was a tool for sharing love and finding herself.
The 51-year-old singer recently released her first album here and The Korea Times met her last week to listen to the story of her life, songs and career.
Lee was born and raised in Japan with six older siblings. Making a living in Japan as an ethnic Korean was challenging, but her parents worked hard and the young Lee frequently learned Korean songs from her father, who was an excellent singer himself.
``My parents went through a lot of hardship. When I was young, I was ashamed of living in such harsh situations and I wanted to get away from it so badly,'' she said.
She started learning the piano and when her teacher told her that she should become an opera singer, Lee changed her path.
``I started to study singing during high school, so it was a bit late. I actually started with Western music to escape my poor youth. It wasn't really a noble thought,'' she laughed.
But the moment she listened to the Spanish folk song ``Gracias a la Vida,'' she realized singing was not about one's social status or wealth, but finding one's roots.
``At that moment, I gave up opera. I wanted to come to Korea, but it was the 1980s, a time when Korea was in a politically complicated situation. People would have called me a spy from North Korea. In Japan, I was called a foreigner,'' she said.
Striving to find her purpose in life and her career, Lee eventually stopped singing. Raising a daughter on her own was also a challenge, and she kept herself busy earning money.
At the age of 35, however, one poem caught her attention and she finally realized her roots were in singing.
``It was a poem called `Prayer' by Japanese poet Yamao Sansei. I went to hear him recite the poem and I was deeply touched. I thought singing must have been a form of prayer for me. As such, I needed to stop thinking about it and sing my deepest prayers. I came home and started to recite the poem to myself, and then it happened. I made a melody and it became my first song,'' Lee said.
For the next 15 years, Lee worked on her songs and performances, and it was when local networks KBS and MBC came to shoot her story as a documentary when she realized it was time to move her stage to Korea.
The opportunity came with her first Korean performance in 2003.
``It was like a dream. My parents had passed away, but they would have been very proud and happy,'' she said.
Lee added that she felt like she was born to connect the two countries, and that she was a person living on the border of Korea and Japan.
``My nationality is Korean but my hometown is in Japan. I have spent so much time wondering who I was and where my roots were, but now it doesn't matter. The important thing is that I am here. That's why the title of my album is `I'm Here Now,''' she said.
``For me, singing is a tool for sharing love. If it wasn't singing, I would have found something else, but for now, singing is the best way to share love with others,'' Lee smiled.
The singer will be back for a performance in April.
sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr
