Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
Singer releasing monthly songs for 8 years
By Park Jin-hai
Yoon Jong-shin / Courtesy of Mystic Entertainment
By Park Jin-hai
Yoon Jong-shin, a 49-year-old K-pop ballad singer-songwriter and CEO of Mystic Entertainment, takes a special place in Korea's fast-changing pop music industry with his “tenacity.”
The singer, best known as guest singer of the 1990s ballad band 015B, has made it a rule of releasing a new single each month for over eight years straight since March 2010.
The singer's project called “Monthly Yoon Jong-shin” was initially brushed off as a one-time gig for a 40-something singer who had seen better days. But Yoon, regardless of the publicity his albums receive, continued to unveil a digital single each month. His 103rd single “Cramming,” featuring Yuju of K-pop girl group G-Friend, will be released on Friday.
At a time when digital singles were relatively new to Korea's music industry, Yoon, through his project he calls a “playground,” made nostalgic ballads he is best known for, but also expanded his musical genres to hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal and EDM. His songs released each month were made into the “His Walk of Life” album series at the end of the year.
The singer said he began the project after seeing his 11th regular album “Round the Village,” which he worked hard on for two years, falling short of commercial success and fast fading from music fans' memories. “After two years of preparation, I go active with the album for the following three months. When an album flops, I feel like I'm facing a dead end so I came up with the idea of releasing a monthly single,” the singer previously said. “With my monthly project, I made up my mind to create songs as much as I love it without thinking otherwise _ including those songs which seemed hard for me to take on then in the format of regular album.”
For those years, Yoon collaborated with many artists including K-pop idols like Super Junior's Kyuhyun, Zico of Block B, Ken of VIXX, as well as many other indie musicians.
His song “Like It,” a sad break-up song released in June last year, topped local music charts and gave him two awards at Gaon Chart Music Awards in February. “I continued to do my job and something like a miracle has happened. I believe I should go after my music rather than chasing the trend,” he said at the awards ceremony.
Critics give credit for his years-long musical endeavor. “As the singer has done it on a regular basis, now this 'Monthly Yoon Jong-shin' has become a brand. Many fans anticipate his new songs and Yoon continues to produce songs that meet fans' expectations,” said Ha Jae-keun, a culture critic. “With the flood of digital music today, there was a growing need for some lyrical music like Yoon's, as well.”
In the meantime, beginning Saturday with Busan, Yoon will embark on a concert tour in cities across the country.