Singer Park In-soo, voice behind hit ‘Spring Rain,’ dead at 78

Singer Park In-soo / Courtesy of music critic Park Seong-seo

Singer Park In-soo, remembered for his soulful rendition of the hit song “Spring Rain,” died of pneumonia on Monday. He was 78.

According to his family, Park had long battled Alzheimer’s disease and other health issues. He had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Seoul when his condition deteriorated due to pneumonia.

Hailed as Korea’s first soul singer, Park lived a turbulent life. Born in Gilju, North Pyongan Province, in 1947, he was separated from his mother during the Korean War and grew up in orphanages before being adopted and moving to the United States at age 12.

He returned to Korea in 1965, bringing with him the soul style he had encountered in Harlem, New York, and began performing at U.S. military clubs.

Park launched his professional career in the late 1960s when he joined the Shin Joong-hyun music circle as a guest vocalist. His breakthrough came with the 1970 hit “Spring Rain,” written by Shin.

Originally sung by Lee Jeong-hwa in 1967, Park’s version, marked by his deep emotional delivery, became a classic. He went on to release other hits such as “Bell-bottoms,” and “Flowers and Butterflies.”

His 1983 song “Have You Ever Cried Looking at the Stars,” inspired by his longing for his lost mother, led to a dramatic reunion with her that year.

“Park delivered soul that was truly Korean, yet deeply authentic," Shin later recalled.

Park’s career declined after his involvement in a 1976 marijuana case, but he found renewed attention in 1987 as part of Shincheon Blues, singing “An Old Tale of a Wanderer” and “Spring Rain” on the group’s debut album.

His health, however, began to fail in the mid-1990s due to hypoglycemia and Parkinson’s disease. He underwent surgery in 2002 to remove an insulin tumor from his pancreas, and subsequent complications left him with memory loss.

His final recording was “A Prepared Encounter,” written by jazz vocalist and composer Kim Jun, in 2013.

“Park In-soo’s turbulent life was deeply embedded in his heartfelt songs. Capable of reaching ‘three high notes,’ he was Korea’s first soul singer who overcame pain and sorrow through soul music and transformed them into joy," music critic Park Seong-seo said. "He will be remembered in the history of Korean popular music as a singer who sang with his whole being to deliver a message of hope.”

A funeral altar has been set up at Yeongdeungpo Hospital in Seoul. He is survived by his wife and son.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.