A behind-the-scenes look at veteran entertainer Song Hae's life

Veteran entertainer Song Hae sticks out his tongue upon request from the photographer after an interview with The Korea Times held last week in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kim Ji-soo

• Published Dec 24, 2014 5:02 PM KST
• Updated Dec 24, 2014 5:02 PM KST

Veteran emcee talks about music, people, program

By Kim Ji-soo

Song Hae may be known for his long-standing career as the host of the “National Song Contest,” but there is much more to the 87-year-old’s life than what we see on stage.

Song fled the North during the 1950-1953 Korean War and settled in Seoul in the South. This move rendered him rootless and without family or relatives, and meant that he never planned for more than three years at a time.

“I am what you call a ‘38 ttaraji,’” he said. The number refers to the military demarcation line dividing the two Koreas and the word “ttaraji” means wretched life.

“So I learned to live it that way,” he said, sitting at an office for the association of elderly entertainments on off-Jong-no street in downtown Seoul.

In a way, Song was a sojourner in the South and his role as emcee of the “National Song Contest,” a network program that has taken him around the world, couldn’t have been a better fit.

The show, which airs Sundays 10 minutes past noon, has been running for 34 years and Song has been emceeing the show for 26 years. During that time, Song has outlived seasonal reshuffles and more than 300 producers.

Before the days of survival auditions, the “National Song Contest,” founded by KBS network, toured the nation giving regular Kims and Parks the chance to sing on the big stage.

Song’s longevity as emcee has earned him a spot in Guinness World Records. He is listed as the oldest and longest-serving emcee for the longest-running program in Korea. “They say that there is one woman who is 100 years old, and she is the oldest broadcaster who runs a private broadcast program from her home,” he said.

It’s a bit early in the morning and there is a hint of fatigue on Song’s face, but about 10 minutes after he gets talking, one can easily see why Song is now a bigger name than the show.

Song has survived with his singular use of words, humor and a smile that stretches to his eyes. While the emcee has a friendly demeanor, he has worked hard to better himself.

Song calls himself an “irregular worker,” a term used to describe temporary job status in a country that has long championed lifetime jobs.

“What that meant was that every season, because networks back then changed emcees or programs every season, I would wait anxiously to see whether or not I was fired,” he said. “I learned to fight that feeling, which was sometimes just as scary as death.”

Song, a native of Haeju in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea, attended a music school in his hometown. After settling in the South, he joined a musical troupe at the age of 25 called Changgong, which means sky. From there he learned how to emcee, sing and act. His military service was also with a military musical group.

Given his background, when KBS started the “National Song Contest,” Song was ready for the job. However, at that time the show wasn’t meant for the long haul.

“We were to visit only the ‘gun’ or towns in Korea,” he recalled. With about 200 towns nationwide, the program was expected to last two years. However, the program has survived, responding to the changing fiber of the Korean society.

As the regional governments obtained more autonomy in Korea in the 1990s, they set out to distinguish themselves with cultural programs and invited the “National Song Contest” to their towns.

The show also made stops to the Korean communities in New York and Paraguay. “Paraguay had the largest Korean community because Koreans would first emigrate to Paraguay before beginning their second emigration to North America or South America,” Song explained.

More recently, the show set up visits in the homelands of the multicultural workers. In this year’s finale, a Filipina married to a Korean man took the grand prize on Dec. 14. That episode will air on Dec. 28.

While hosting the show, Song says he works hard to engage with the participants, talking with them prior to the show and going over his self-written script several times. He also makes a point to interact with the younger crowds.

Working on a program that started in an authoritarian government and survived Korea’s democratization means Song has witnessed a lot of changes.

“You have to understand back then we were asked to refrain on the ‘lowly’ whatever that may be and the political content,” Song explained.

“Now people will say anything. I don’t believe it has to do with democratization, it’s just the times. People will say whatever is on their minds.”

Through the program, he has maintained his health. He believes music has a way of keeping him calm. In his personal life, he lost his only son in a traffic accident about 40 years ago and attempted suicide from the pain. Song talked about that pain on a recent talk show, but not during this interview.

Over the years, however, Song has learned from the show and the show participants something about music, and life. He said that music “is a reflection of Korean life,” Song said.

He said once he met a monk participant who sang a popular song and Song jokingly asked him why the monk didn’t chant the Buddhist scriptures and the monk replied that the song was the scriptures.

“Various participants have taught me that music was the Buddhist scriptures, the Bible and all that,” Song said.

The popular show host can sing too: he has released seven albums and is working on the eighth.

He said the old song “Castor Oil Lamp” was his favorite song.

“Write down the lyrics... I will sing it(“Castor Oil Lamp”),” Song said.

“I will play you a flute.

Don’t cry baby...

If you fall asleep while crying,

You will see your mom.

Round and round the watermill goes,

On the way back during sunset,

The flying reeds call you out...,” he hummed.

This song reminds him of the time he fled the North and left his family, Song said.

His recipe for health has been good friends and “the right amount of soju or rice wine, he said. “As in everything else, alcohol in moderation is like medicine.”

Song shared his secret to controlling the alcohol intake so that it doesn’t ruin his health or his life.

“When I start feeling the alcohol take over, I will myself to think about only the good things. Then, I am good,” he said.

This year, he received the government’s “Eungwan” medal of honor for his contributions to Korean culture.