The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    BTS stars shine brighter as solo artists

  • 3

    All elementary schools in Seoul to record calls from parents

  • 5

    S. Korea crush Kuwait to begin men's football title defense

  • 7

    Foreign tour operators pay close attention to Seoul's new Tourism Future Vision plan

  • 9

    US court rules in favor of KEPCO, KHNP over nuclear reactor exports

  • 11

    USFK soldier, 2 women arrested for drug trafficking

  • 13

    Yoon signs off on motion requesting parliamentary consent to opposition leader's arrest

  • 15

    Seoul unveils lineup for Art Festival Seoul 2023

  • 17

    Yoon pitches Busan Expo bid at UN in bilateral talks

  • 19

    Housewife arrested for smuggling meth in sunflower seed bags

  • 2

    '30 Days' promises laughter, unlikely romance

  • 4

    North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown

  • 6

    Putin may regret forging closer ties with Kim: experts

  • 8

    ITZY's Lia takes break to put mental health first

  • 10

    Parent assaults day care center worker with baby excrement; angry public urges lawmakers to act

  • 12

    Korea ramps up support for marginalized youth

  • 14

    Korea to begin quest for 3rd straight men's football gold vs. Kuwait

  • 16

    30 people purchased 8,000 homes: data

  • 18

    INTERVIEWSong Kang-ho hopes to offer cinematic originality with 'Cobweb'

  • 20

    Naver, Kakao engage in fierce payment competition in China, Japan

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
Thu, September 21, 2023 | 18:33
Films
Kim Sisters' Min-ja talks about 'Try to Remember'
Posted : 2017-01-25 17:28
Updated : 2017-01-25 19:20
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Mia Kim, also known as Min-ja of the Kim Sisters, poses for a photo during an interview with The Korea Times at the Film Forum in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times
Mia Kim, also known as Min-ja of the Kim Sisters, poses for a photo during an interview with The Korea Times at the Film Forum in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times
Mia Kim, also known as Min-ja of the Kim Sisters, poses for a photo during an interview with The Korea Times at the Film Forum in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times
The poster for "Try to Remember," a music documentary on the Kim Sisters / Courtesy of Indieline

By Kwon Mee-yoo


The presence of K-pop is growing across the globe and Korean girl bands are gaining popularity from international audiences with their bubblegum pop style music and elaborate dance routines from the early 2000s. However, there was a Korean female trio that swept stages of Las Vegas, the capital of live entertainment, half a century ago.

"Try to Remember," a documentary on the Kim Sisters, the pioneering girl band which headed to the United States in 1959, will hit local theaters Friday.

Mia Kim, 76, now living in Hungary with her musician husband Tommy Vig, visited Korea to celebrate the release of the film as well as to attend a festival commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 in Korea.

The Kim Sisters consists of Kim Sook-ja, also known as Sue; Ai-ja; and Min-ja and established in 1953, soon after the Korean War (1950-53). Sook-ja and Ai-ja were daughters of the legendary Korean popular singer Lee Nan-young (1916-1965) and Min-ja was their cousin and daughter of renowned composer Lee Bong-ryong, who was Nan-young's elder brother.

"I was born Lee Hyang, but aunt Lee Nan-young renamed me Kim Min-ja when she adopted me to form the Kim Sisters," Kim said. "It was after the war and Aunt Lee's stately house in downtown Seoul was all destroyed. Aunt Lee thought of making a girl band and my father arranged songs for us while Aunt Lee trained us how to sing and dance on stage."

She reminisced about the hard training when she was around 12. "We were young and didn't want to rehearse but rather wanted to go out and play. Aunt Lee found bananas, which were very rare in Korea back then, and gave us the fruit when we learn singing and dancing. So three of us practiced hard to get bananas," Kim said.

Kim had performed at a musical show staged by her uncle-in-law and composer Kim Hae-song when she was around five, but her first stage as the Kim Sisters was in the southern city of Busan when they fled to avoid the war.

"Aunt Lee brought us a record and we memorized two songs 'Candy and Cake' and 'Ole Buttermilk Sky.' The American GIs in Busan loved our singing and requested an encore. We only knew those two songs, so we repeated the same songs for our encore," Kim said.

The trio was picked up by American producer Tom Ball and arrived in Las Vegas in 1959 as the first Korean musicians to perform in the States.

"We were so naive and innocent back then. We had big expectations for our arrival in the States as we were popular in Korea and well-known among Americans GIs. However, we were nobody and there were no news people for us at the airport. We were so disappointed," Kim recalled.

The three girls had a difficult time in a strange place at first. "We were not good at English and the food didn't agree with us. We missed our family and friends. We were so lonely and cried a lot," Kim said. "However, we hardened our decision to stay because we thought it would be impossible to return once we go back to Korea."

The Kim Sisters saw the silver lining when the audience went wild at their first performance at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas. "We felt that we have a chance to success in the States," Kim said.

Their success led to a contract at the Stardust Hotel, also in Las Vegas, which was renewed several times, and appearances on the famous Ed Sullivan Show, of which the group performed over 22 times in total.

The Kim Sisters are known for playing a wide range of musical instruments from guitar and bass to mandolin and Irish bagpipes.

"I played the drums at first. My father also played the drums and maybe I inherited the talent. We also played saxophone, trombone, flute, steel guitar and many more. We had instructors for each instrument and performed different instruments each time we starred on the Ed Sullivan show," Kim said.

Kim said the girl band was lucky as they arrived in the U.S. when there were few Asian performers in the States. However, there were strenuous efforts to stand out behind the Kim Sisters' success.

"We sang Korean music and played traditional instruments such as gayageum (Korean zither) in hanbok (Korean traditional costume) and changed into a dress and performed American rock'n'roll the next. Americans were amazed by us and became interested," Kim said. "We were keen about what type of music and styles were popular in the States. However, we didn't just imitate the style, but adopted it based on our style. Having our own style made us unique and original."

Kim cultivated the memory of Aunt Lee, who shepherded them to become entertainers. "She had talent and was very smart. Everything we learned was from Aunt Lee," Kim said.

The trio invited Lee to the States and performed together on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. "It was so moving. We haven't seen her for years and I can't quite describe the mixed feelings of joy and sorrow we felt at the moment."

Kim married a Hungarian musician Vig and performed jazz in Los Angeles after the Kim Sisters disbanded. She moved to Hungary in 2006 where old-fashioned jazz music is still popular. She continues to perform with her jazz musician husband there.

The greatest joy of life for Kim comes when audiences love her singing as she can make them happy.

"Music is my everything. It's my whole life," said Kim. "I come from a musical family and started singing when young. As long as I'm healthy and do not lose my voice, I will sing as long as I have breath. That's my life."

Kim said she is grateful to director Kim Dae-hyun making the Kim Sisters documentary. "He made the Kim Sisters live on forever. I hope Koreans will remember the Kim Sisters forever," Kim said.

Emailmeeyoo@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
miguel
Top 10 Stories
1North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown North Korean escapees tell how nuclear tests ruined their health, hometown
230 people purchased 8,000 homes: data 30 people purchased 8,000 homes: data
3Korea urged to adopt China exit strategy amid hegemonic war Korea urged to adopt China exit strategy amid hegemonic war
4[INTERVIEW] Putin uses summit with NK leader to stop Seoul from helping Ukraine: expert INTERVIEWPutin uses summit with NK leader to stop Seoul from helping Ukraine: expert
5Foreign ministry asks Japan to investigate case of Korean poisoned with bleach in Tokyo Foreign ministry asks Japan to investigate case of Korean poisoned with bleach in Tokyo
6Unfreezing of funds not likely to restore Korea-Iran ties Unfreezing of funds not likely to restore Korea-Iran ties
7Seoul plans to build Jamsil Sports MICE Complex Seoul plans to build Jamsil Sports MICE Complex
8Merck emphasizes digitalization in semiconductor market Merck emphasizes digitalization in semiconductor market
9Yanolja's aggressive expansion results in voluntary redundancy program Yanolja's aggressive expansion results in voluntary redundancy program
10Global oil price surge stokes stagflation concerns Global oil price surge stokes stagflation concerns
Top 5 Entertainment News
1'30 Days' promises laughter, unlikely romance '30 Days' promises laughter, unlikely romance
2ITZY's Lia takes break to put mental health first ITZY's Lia takes break to put mental health first
3Rowoon leaves SF9 to focus on acting career Rowoon leaves SF9 to focus on acting career
4Invasion of 'smart' albums Invasion of 'smart' albums
5Netflix's 'Song of the Bandits' blends western action with Korean period series Netflix's 'Song of the Bandits' blends western action with Korean period series
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group