Iconic folk singer Jo Dong-jin dies at 70
By Yun Suh-young
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Jo Dong-jin in an interview last year / Yonhap
Folk singer-songwriter Jo Dong-jin who had been fighting cancer died Monday. He was 70.
Cho was found dead in his bathroom at home at 3:43 a.m. Monday, his sister Jo Dong-hee told Yonhap News Agency. She said he must have fainted due to a weak heart and weak physical state from old age and cancer. Jo was suffering stage-four bladder cancer.
"He was scheduled to have surgery at Korea University Medical Center and was to be hospitalized starting today. Everyone was happy that his concert next month was sold out but we were taken by surprise and sadness when he passed away suddenly," the sister said, Monday.
Jo Dong-jin had a concert slated for Sept. 16 at KEPCO Art Center in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, which was to be his first concert in 13 years.
Jo debuted in 1966 as a guitarist and vocalist of jazz rock band Chagrin which mainly performed for the Eighth United States Army. In 1979 he made his official debut after releasing his self-titled first folk music album which became widely popular. The album was later honored as one of the "100 greatest albums in Korean pop music." After releasing his fifth album in 1996, he lived a secluded life on Jeju Island.
While his generational cohorts Han Dae-soo and Kim Min-ki led the Korean folk music culture by reflecting disgruntled sentiments of the times, Jo's sound and lyrics were meditative and melodic, shepherding the genre in another direction.
When junior colleagues started emulating his style, Jo formed a group called Hana Music which consisted of his younger siblings Jo Dong-ik and Jo Dong-hee, as well as Jang Pil-soon and Lee Kyu-ho among other leading folk talents of the time. Jo was commonly referred to as the "godfather of Korean underground music" in the 1990s.
Following a hiatus after his fifth album in 1996, Jo released new songs through omnibus records together with former Hana Music members in 2001 and in 2015. Last November, he released "As a Tree," his first new album in 20 years which became his swan song. The album was named “Album of the Year” and “Best Pop Album” at the 2017 Korean Music Awards.
Jo is survived by his two sons Beom-gu and Seung-gu and the funeral will take place Wednesday at Ilsan Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.