Interview35 years, one voice: How rock musician Bae Chul-soo became Korea's most beloved radio legend

Radio host Bae Chul-soo jots down notes for the May 30 edition of "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp" during an interview with The Korea Times at MBC headquarters in western Seoul earlier that day. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

The voice enters the room before the man does. It's calm but commanding, a familiar tone that has drifted through Korean homes, offices and car radios for over three decades.

When Bae Chul-soo, the iconic host of Korea's most beloved daily radio show, "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp," walked into his studio at MBC's headquarters for an exclusive interview with The Korea Times May 30, he did not need to introduce himself — his voice already had.

At 71, Bae's presence was surprisingly sharp and vibrant — like a vintage vinyl record that hasn’t lost its fidelity.

"Music is most of who I am," he said, reflecting on a life of music, from rock concerts to live radio broadcasts during the interview.

"I've spent my whole life listening to it, loving it, singing along. In the late 1970s, I was in a band, playing and creating music. Then in 1990, I started introducing music as a disc jockey. My life is practically all music. It's hard to talk about myself without it."

He paused, then, with a gentle smile, added: "There's a song by John Miles called 'Music.' The lyrics go, 'Music was my first love, and it will be my last.' That's exactly how I feel. Music is my first and everlasting love."

Bae Chul-soo performs onstage as a member of Songgolmae during the band's concert in 2022 at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, Seoul. Captured from Bae's Instagram

35 years on air

For millions of radio listeners, Bae is more than just a DJ — he’s a cultural fixture, a constant presence in Korea’s pop music scene.

When "Bae Camp" — short for "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp" — first aired on MBC FM in March 1990, the pop music landscape was a different world. CDs were cutting-edge, the Cold War was coming to an end and the term "K-pop" hadn’t even been coined.

Now in its 35th year, the program has become one of Korea's longest-running and most influential radio shows — a rare example of longevity in a music scene defined by rapid change.

And Bae, with his encyclopedic knowledge of Western popular music, dry wit and steady candor, has become inseparable from its identity.

"It's gotten to the point where I've lost count. Even I wonder how I've kept this going for so long. People out there must be thinking, 'Man, he's really still doing this,'" Bae said with a laugh, reflecting on the show's 35th anniversary.

"I never planned to go this far. It just sort of happened. You know how it sounds strange to ask someone who's lived to be 100 years old, 'How did you live this long?' It's the same for me. This show became my daily life. And before I knew it, 35 years had passed."

Bae Chul-soo, fourth from right, poses with members of K-pop act BTS after the group's "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp" appearance in September 2020. BTS is one of the few K-pop acts to appear on the long-running music show, a decision Bae said was due to the group’s success on the Billboard charts, which positioned them within the realm of global pop. Captured from Bae's Instagram

Evolution of pop music

Long before he became a household name in radio, Bae was already shaping Korean rock music as a performer. Bae debuted in 1978 with the group Runway and went on to co-found Songgolmae in 1979, a rock band that helped define Korean rock in the 1980s.

By the time he stepped behind the mic as a DJ, he was already familiar with the rhythms of musicians. That firsthand knowledge transformed him not just into a trendsetter, but also a bridge between genres and generations.

"When I started DJing in 1990, rock still dominated," he recalled. "In the 1970s and 1980s, Michael Jackson was huge. And 'Thriller,' though people may not realize it, was considered rock. But by the 1990s, things shifted. It became the age of the divas — Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and such. Women really took over the charts. These days, it's not even surprising. Look at Taylor Swift. She's selling like crazy."

Asked to describe today's pop music landscape, Bae offered a quiet insight: "I think the lack of a trend is the trend now."

He elaborated by pointing to Billie Eilish.

"You try to trace where her music comes from, what influences it — and it feels like it has no roots. When you listen to John Mayer, you can tell it's rooted in blues. There's a lineage. But Billie Eilish? Her music sounds like it came from nowhere and yet, it's good," he explained.

He noted how this shift marks a departure from the past when dominant styles sparked waves of imitators.

"In the past, when a style like new wave rock got popular, you'd suddenly have a bunch of similar bands. When Michael Jackson hit it big, others followed that sound," he said.

"But today, someone can just record a track with a guitar, upload it and go viral on social media. Even songs that don’t feel like 'music' in the traditional sense can blow up in short-form content. At the same time, an old-school ballad singer like Adele can top the charts. Or a young artist like Olivia Rodrigo can bring back rock."

"It's clearly become the era of the individual. Doing what you like has become the trend."

Bae Chul-soo poses with British singer Anne-Marie during his 30th-anniversary joint project with BBC, left, and American pop star Sabrina Carpenter. Captured from Bae's Instagram

Analog loyalty

Even as the music world embraces streaming and algorithm-driven recommendations, Bae remains drawn to the tactile. Though he also sources music from digital databases and plays files like everyone else, he still prefers the feel of physical CDs and vinyl records, the intimacy of handwritten liner notes and the deliberate pause before pressing play.

"There's something special about the old process," he said. "Taking a CD out of its case, putting it in, lining it up — and while it plays, you look at the album jacket, check who played the bass, who produced the track. That whole ritual is fun and meaningful to me."

Still, Bae has never been one to cling to the past.

In recent years, he has collaborated with numerous global pop stars and engaged with younger audiences across social media platforms. For the 30th anniversary of "Bae Camp," he co-hosted a live special with the BBC in London.

Now for the 35th anniversary, his team is planning a live broadcast from Lollapalooza, slated for July 31 to Aug. 2 in Chicago.

With several Korean musicians set to perform, he plans to conduct on-site interviews, noting how K-pop has become a global phenomenon. "If they're going global, we should, too."

For Bae, the event is an opportunity to stay relevant in an increasingly globalized music scene. While his on-air style remains rooted in the classic radio tradition, Bae is not one to resist change.

"Traditional radio trends have definitely changed. I've been doing this every day since 1990 and my style still leans classic. But that doesn't mean I can ignore the trends," he said.

"I'm kind of an early adopter. I use TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, even Threads. I do everything others are doing. Our audience is young. If I want to keep talking to them, I can't be that old man yelling at clouds."

Radio host Bae Chul-soo adjusts the microphone in his MBC radio studio during an interview with The Korea Times ahead of the "Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp" live broadcast, May 30. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Show for all

At its core, "Bae Camp" is an evening companion — a two-hour window for listeners to decompress from the day. Despite his icon status, Bae sees his job as something humble, even ordinary.

"Nothing in particular," he said when asked what message he most wants to give his listeners.

"I say this to my staff all the time. When we get a new producer, they're often full of ambition. They want to do something grand. But our show airs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Most people are then getting home from work, running shops, maybe stuck doing overtime. Their day might not be going great," Bae said.

"If they can unwind on the way home with some good music and laugh at a DJ's silly joke, that's all we need. That's the value and the meaning of our show. We're not here to teach or preach."

That humility comes with a deep awareness of the platform he holds.

"Sometimes someone tells me that something I said offhand changed their life. That terrifies me," he shared. "Influencing someone's life — that's not something to take lightly. It's a kind of power. And if you're not afraid of that power, you turn into a monster. When listeners send in their worries and I try to answer, I do it very carefully."

After 35 years and more than 12,000 episodes, Bae has no audacious plan for what comes next. His only desire? To keep showing up.

"When you're young, you think you're in control of your health. But as you get older, you realize it's the other way around — your health controls you," Bae said with a chuckle.

"So I just want to keep doing this as long as I can. I don't know when the end will come, but everything in life has an end. Even if it ends next week, I'm OK with that. That's the mindset I have each time I go on air."