A 54-year-old Korean housewife sang for more than 76 hours straight, setting a world record in the ``longest singing marathon by an individual'' category Saturday.
Kim Sun-ok broke the 75-hour Guinness World Record, held by America's Marcus Lapratt, at a karaoke bar in northern Seoul.
Her record was 76 hours, seven minutes and one second, according to the Korea Record Institute, a member of Britain's Guinness World Records. Kim, who started singing on Thursday, sang more than 1,200 numbers and finished on Saturday afternoon.
She was given 30-second breaks in between songs and five-minute breaks every hour. Kim sustained herself by eating bananas and tangerines and drinking water mixed with honey.
She finished singing only after she was stopped by officials and family members, worried about her health.
Kim broke into tears after setting the record, but regretted being stopped by Guinness officials. ``I was able to sing a bit more. I should have sung longer,'' she said.
Asked about the reason that she sang for so long, she said, ``I want to test myself and showcase a challenging spirit in this time of economic hardship.''
The Korea Record Institute will submit a video tape of Kim and other material for review to Guinness before she is recognized as the new record-holder in the singing marathon category.