Grammy-awarded star to sing for two Koreas' reunification

Peabo Bryson, an American R&B singer, speaks to The Korea Times in an interview at Marriott Executive Apartments on Yeouido, Monday. / Courtesy of One-K Global Campaign Organizing Committee

By Kim Hyo-jin

Peabo Bryson's tender and sultry voice awakens people's childhood memories in Disney's "A Whole New World" from the Aladdin soundtrack and "Beauty and the Beast" from the film of the same title.

The famed American R&B singer is set to bring his voice into a song promoting unification of the two Koreas.

In an effort to seek global support for unification, the One-K Global Campaign Organizing Committee, consisting of over 800 domestic NGOs including Action for Korea United (AKU), started the civic-led unification movement One-K Global Campaign in 2015. It announced a plan to release a unification song in collaboration with world-famous music producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis by early next year.

Bryson came to join the project at Jam and Lewis's suggestion. The music producers said they will make a song that has an "impact beyond the charts" like Michael Jackson's "We are the world."

He said he was thrilled to be part of what music is meant for — making change.
"If you have something to give to music, why not give it to music that has a multi-faceted purpose that might actually change something?" he said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday.

"If I could be a small part of making that happen, that's enough of an accomplishment as an individual to be a small part of something. It would be a crowning moment in my life and would be bigger than an Oscar and a Grammy."

Bryson visited South Korea in the 1990s to perform at U.S. army bases but this is the first time he is able to spend quality time here to experience the country, he said.

The singer, who came to Seoul on Dec. 5 for a promotional press conference on the One-K project, has travelled to some historic places including the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone and witnessed a candlelit rally that drew over a million protesters.

"I felt the high level of morality that runs through South Korean people," Peabo said, noting he was particularly impressed by the non-violent nature of the rally and the passion fuming out of it.

"It shows how serious you are about doing things right, straight, and fair _ high moral character that doesn't exist in the rest of the world."

Peabo showed confidence in delivering a genuine message in an envisioned song based on his understanding of the people. He cheerfully said he even has some ideas on lyrics for Jam and Lewis.

"To sing about it, you really have to know it, get somebody to internalize the struggle of North and South. That's something totally different," he said.

Likening the process to his strength — singing duets, the musician said, "You have to love Korean people, treat their strengths and weaknesses equally. It's got to be a real relationship, or it won't work."

The 65-year-old believes in the humanitarian grounds in the issue of unification between the two Koreas, which people outside the countries can empathize with. To an American, there are parallels between the American dream during the civil rights struggles and the Korean dream now.

"Martin Luther King said ‘I have a dream' in his speech. That's just the one thing to remember," he said. "It's about hope for humanity. And hope for unification is the same thing."

Bryson accomplished many things in his long-term music career. He has performed for nearly five decades since age 14, released 26 albums and won two Grammy Awards.

When asked if he hopes to make the new song the greatest hit of all, he humbly answered, "It's about real hope. It's totally got nothing to do with narcissism."

"South Korean people want to pay their spirituality forward. It's not like they try to make a utopia but just want to be fair, just to be reunited with brothers and sisters. So how do we accomplish that, if this goes anyway toward accomplishing that, it will still be without a doubt the biggest accomplishment of my life."

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