Na Hoon-a comforts pandemic-weary Koreans

In this captured image from KBS, veteran singer Na Hoon-a performs his new song "Brother Tes" during his TV concert at KBS Hall in Seoul last week. The concert aired on KBS 2 on Wednesday, the first day of the Chuseok long weekend, and outperformed other TV shows in the same time slot, with a 29 percent viewer rating. "Tes" in the title of the song refers to Greek philosopher Socrates, whom singer Na asks for wisdom about men's lives full of suffering, troubles, hurdles and unknowns.

'Emperor of Trot' cheers up people, rebukes partisan politics

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Once again, singer Na Hoon-a proved that age is just a number.

The 73-year-old star was tireless, energetic enough to perform 26 songs all during the two-and-a-half-hour concert which aired on KBS 2 first on Wednesday and once again on Saturday night in an extended version featuring his interview after the show.

The Na Hoon-a concert gave KBS 2 incredible ratings ― viewership marked 29 percent for the Wednesday night show and 18 percent for the show that aired on Saturday night.
These figures are strong enough to give KBS 2 ― which, like other broadcasting companies, was wrestling with deadly falling ratings amid a shift in the media industry over digitization ― a brief break from the struggling ratings war.

The surprisingly high ratings show that Na Hoon-a is a rare unrivaled star who enjoys popularity among fans of all age groups and has a strong presence in the Korean music scene despite the domination of K-pop.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the TV concert, of which the official title was "Republic of Korea Again: Na Hoon-a Concert," took place at KBS Hall in Seoul without an in-person audience.

To create an atmosphere of a crowded concert, KBS set up hundreds of screens in the studio through which fans from all over Korea, and other countries, including Australia, Thailand, Russia, and Zimbabwe, reacted to the trot singer.

The concert began with his new song "Hometown-bound Ship." Its melody is addictive and its lyrics are easy to follow.

True to his nickname, "The Emperor of Trot" dominated the show from start to finish.

He interacted with his fans through his pep talks in between songs. To cheer up male breadwinners, he "directed" all the middle-aged men on the screens to come forward, so he could see them clearly before he performed his song "A Man's Life," which describes a weary but responsible breadwinner bracing for a tough life to support his family. Then the singer praised them for their sacrifice and hard work.

To many TV audiences, the most striking part of his concert was the intermittent messages he delivered during the show.

Calling doctors and nurses "heroes" who saved Koreans from COVID-19, he said he appreciated them for their dedication and hard work. He then rebuked KBS, which is a national television station run on taxpayer money, for allegedly politically motivated coverage.

"I hope that KBS can heed what the people say and report fact-based stories that are in line with public opinion, without trying to curry favor with (certain political factions)," he said. "I hope KBS can be reborn as a broadcasting company for the sake of the people. I don't know if that will happen, but I do believe KBS could be born again."

His remarks reflect the allegations of political meddling in the media.

Na went on criticizing unspecified politicians indirectly.

"I've read history books and they tell us that there are no kings or heads of state who risked their lives for the sake of their people… It were grassroots people who saved this country from foreign invasions or other crises. The grassroots were the key forces behind the survival of this country against all odds," he said.

He stopped short of criticizing directly the ruling camp but it was apparent which politicians his criticism was targeting.

To support the "greatness of the Korean people," the singer reminded TV audiences of what happened during the Asian Financial Crisis that hit the Korean economy in the late 1990s. Koreans inaccurately refer to the crisis as the "IMF crisis," partly because of bittersweet memories of the International Monetary Fund, the organization that that bailed out the nation on the condition of massive reforms of four key sectors, including banking and corporate governance.

"You'll probably remember what happened during the IMF crisis. People brought all kinds of gold accessories and donated them to help the nation repay the borrowed money before the due date. They did so to save the country in peril… Koreans surprised the world," he said. "Don't forget how we overcame COVID-19. Korean people faithfully followed what the health authorities asked them to do… They are such great people."

His concert, which first aired on the first night of the Chuseok long weekend, had a lingering impact on the nation.

His remarks created a media frenzy. Some media portrayed the singer as a man of integrity who made the most of his concert to break his silence and voice legitimate worries about what's going on in the political arena. Some praised him for his courage to stand up against "corrupt" politicians.

Some of his heroic past was revisited as his remarks went viral.

In the 1990s, he was courted by the then ruling party to run in the National Assembly elections, an offer he rejected. He was quoted as saying that he was born to be a singer and had no intention to explore a field in which he was not talented.

He was invited to perform at a party thrown by then Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee in the 1990s. Rejecting the lucrative offer, Na was quoted as saying that "I'm a singer. I perform only in front of audiences. If you want to listen to my songs, get a ticket for my concert."

Na was on the list of singers invited to perform at a concert in North Korea in July 2018. He didn't accept the call because he reportedly didn't like the way the concert was to be held.

Na's "cause-driven" concert has inspired several politicians.

Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong said he admires the singer for his insight and courage to speak out on touchy political issues.

"His show is over, but my heart is still pounding. I couldn't go to bed because I was so touched," the governor wrote on social media. "He deserves the nickname, Emperor. He dominated the stage all during the show, bringing his audience up and down. I've been in the political arena for nearly two decades and tried hard to be a good politician. Compared to the artist, however, I found myself miserably inferior."