[Series Index]
42. Jang Yoon-Jeong [장윤정]
Years of Activity: 2004-present
Discography:
Oh My [어머나] (2004)
Jjanjjara [짠짜라] (2005)
Later, later [이따, 이따요] (2006)
Jang Yoon-Jeong Twist [장윤정 트위스트] (2008)
Ole [올래] (2010)
Representative Song: Oh My [어머나] from Oh My
어머나
Oh My
어머나 어머나 이러지 마세요
Oh my, oh my, don't be like this
여자의 마음은 갈대랍니다
A lady's heart is like a reed
안돼요 왜이래요 묻지말아요
No, why do you do this. Don't ask questions
더 이상 내게 원하시면 안돼요
You should not want any more from me
오늘 처음 만난 당신이지만 내 사랑인걸요
I only met you for the first time today, but you are my love
헤어지면 남이되어 모른척하겠지만
Though when we part, we will become strangers and pretend not to know
좋아해요 사랑해요
I like you, I love you
거짓말처럼 당신을 사랑해요
I love you like a lie
소설속에 영화속에 멋진 주인공은 아니지만
Though you may not be a handsome character from a novel or a movie
괜찮아요 말해봐요
It's ok, just tell me
당신 위해서라면 다 줄게요
For you, I will give you my all
어머나 어머나 이러지 마세요
Oh my, oh my, don't be like this
여자의 마음은 바람입니다
A lady's heart is like the wind
안돼요 왜이래요 잡지말아요
No, why do you do this. Don't hold me
더 이상 내게 바라시면 안돼요
You should not desire any more from me
오늘 처음 만난 당신이지만 내 사랑인걸요
I only met you for the first time today, but you are my love
헤어지면 남이되어 모른척하겠지만
Though when we part, we will become strangers and pretend not to know
좋아해요 사랑해요
I like you, I love you
거짓말처럼 당신을 사랑해요
I love you like a lie
소설속에 영화속에 멋진 주인공은 아니지만
Though you may not be a handsome character from a novel or a movie
괜찮아요 말해봐요
It's ok, just tell me
당신 위해서라면 다 줄게요
For you, I will give you my all
소설속에 영화속에 멋진 주인공은 아니지만
Though you may not be a handsome character from a novel or a movie
괜찮아요 말해봐요
It's ok, just tell me
당신 위해서라면 다 줄게요
For you, I will give you my all
Translation note: "Reed" is a common metaphor in Korean, signifying someone who "bends with the wind" -- i.e. changes as the times change.
Hey, didn't I see her before? Yes, you saw her in the Just Missed the Cut (Part 2). But upon reconsideration, the Korean had to include her (and drop 장기하, much to his regret.)
In 15 words or less: Woman who singlehandedly brought trot back to life.
Maybe she should have been ranked higher because... In terms of the level of difficulty, getting the young people interested in trot again was an enormous feat.
Maybe she should have been ranked lower because... At the end of the day, how big is trot in K-pop scene? Is it even as big as rap? Hard rock?
Why is this artist important?
Trot is a genre that has an awkward place in Korea. The screaming girls (= fans of boy/girl groups) do not care about trot as it sounds old-fashioned. The too-serious K-pop aficionados (= fans of rock, hiphop and indie) dismiss trot as uncreative and Japan-origined.
They both have a point. As the Korean noted in the brief history of K-pop, trot was the first -- and for a long time in practical terms, the only -- form of pop music in Korea. It is an imitation of a popular music in Japan, undoubtedly a product of Japan's colonization of Korea. The music itself is thoroughly unoriginal, employing the same distinctive one-two beat created by a percussion box throughout the decades of its existence. The lyrics were catchy for one listen, then quickly stale and vacuous.
From its heyday in the 1960s and 70s, trot suffered a long decline until it reached a nadir at around late 1990s-early 2000s. There were a few brave souls -- generally older male artists in their 50s -- who kept chugging along, but they did nothing to reverse the perception that trot was a musical equivalent of a stale meatloaf.
Jang singlehandedly reversed that trend. To be sure, it probably helped that in the 2000s, the trend in Korean pop culture toward retro -- the tendency to look back into the past as more innocent and romantic -- was in full swing. Her music is not anything special, as the familiar one-two beat is present throughout. But there should be no question that it took Jang's full talent and gumption for this moribund trend to come back. It was unthinkable for a pretty young woman in her 20s would hitch her musical fortune to a dying genre. That Jang was able to bring back the trend by the sheer force of her spunk and charm is quite an achievement.
It is still not entirely clear whether trot will completely shed its stigma of being an uncreative music of the bad old days. But regardless of its artistic merits, trot survived for so long in Korea at least partly because it resonated with Koreans themselves -- it would have been a shame if something that was such a huge part of Korea's pop culture completely disappeared into oblivion. Because of Jang, trot is now seen as a valid career path for young Korean pop artists, and accordingly received an injection of new talent that will carry the genre into the future.
Interesting trivia: Jang was a winner of a prominent amateur singing contest in 1999 (MBC 강변가요제) with dance music, but toiled in obscurity for five years until her debut album in 2004. In an interview, Jang also professed that she originally wanted to be a rock musician.
Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.
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