KBS1 ‘Human Theater’
From the 6th to the 10th at 7:50 a.m., KBS1’s ‘Human Theater’ will broadcast ‘An 83-Year-Old Mother’s Song-‘Seoul Television Broadcasting Station’ first-cohort singer Lee In-ja, a second ‘Life’ sung at 83’.
# An 83-Year-Old Mother’s Song, Sung Again
At 83, Lee In-ja (83) still keeps up with the housework. Cherishing her daughter, now nearly 60, this mom says she doesn’t want even a single drop of water to touch her daughter’s hands. When she puts rollers in her hair and makes an effort, it means there’s a special event that day.
In fact, Ms. In-ja was in the first cohort of exclusive singers at ‘Seoul Television Broadcasting Station’, the predecessor of KBS. Studying vocal music, she attended girls’ high school on scholarship throughout, and at nineteen she took to stages nationwide under the stage name ‘Imi-gyeong’. Then she met her husband at a performance in Goseong and left her brief singing career behind to live as a wife and mother.
They enjoyed 50 harmonious years, but 11 years ago she had to let her husband go suddenly. Even now, every time she leaves the house, Ms. In-ja makes sure to greet her husband’s photo, carefully kept in a corner of the room. The longing remains, but she found her smile again thanks to her daughter. With her daughter constantly nudging her, she even entered a senior-singer competition. Accompanying her daughter and singing, since 2019 she has been taking the stage as senior singer Lee In-ja. The old songs she delivers with relish at 83 miss neither rhythm nor pitch. Wherever she goes, cheers pour in, and a tip from elders in their nineties brings a smile to this 83-year-old mom.
# Stay Strong, Kim Eun-ju
KBS1 ‘Human Theater’
Her daughter, Kim Eun-ju (58), who inherited her mother’s flair, is in her 14th year as a singer. Her life, once flourishing as an academy instructor, began to change after her father’s business went bankrupt. Struggling to repay the debt, her married life was not always smooth.
Finding life in Seoul overwhelming, 21 years ago Ms. Eun-ju came alone to Geoje with just 100,000 won. She ate and slept in a tiny room at an academy, taught piano, worked as a singing instructor, and went around to events. Then at 44, a bit late in life, she began her full-fledged career as a singer and has hustled as a livelihood-driven performer who runs wherever she is called.
Tears fall when she thinks of the past, but her mother, who soothes those years, is by her side. Since her father passed away 11 years ago, she has been living with her mother, who was depressed. Whether going to teach at a singing class or heading to a gig, she is always with her mom. For the past few years, they have become a mother-daughter duo, sharing the stage and doing volunteer work together.
# Singer Lee In-ja’s Stage Begins!
KBS1 ‘Human Theater’
Ms. Eun-ju had always felt it a shame to let her mother’s talent as a former exclusive singer go to waste. She gifts her mother the first new song of her life. Reflecting her mother’s life as it is, the title of the song is also ‘Life’. As it happens, the daughter also has a new song out, so the mother-daughter duo is preparing a showcase. To Ms. In-ja, today’s songs all feel unfamiliar. By contrast, Ms. Eun-ju meticulously takes command of her mother’s stage. On a day of intensive practice, tension hangs between the two.
Spring is herethe season when singers spread wings that had been folded. As events start to come in one by one, the mother-daughter duo is getting busy. At a university alumni gathering, Mom shows off the full skill of a former exclusive singer, and at a nursing-home volunteer performance she even receives a tip from a grandmother in her nineties. Her mother’s song is like a restorative tonic; it was truly a good thing to sing again.
For Ms. In-ja, it is the first new-song showcase of her life. Under the pressure of the stage, she keeps making mistakes even during rehearsal. At last, people have gathered to see the duo perform. The 83-year-old mother’s stage begins now.
KBS1 ‘Human Theater’
