KBS

The ‘singing poet’ Park In-hee, who led the golden age of folk songs, abruptly left for the United States at the very peak of popularity, when she was handling three broadcasts a day. She shares the reason on the program.

At 11:10 p.m. on the 14th, episode 39 of KBS1 ‘Back to the Music Season 2’ features Park In-hee. It reveals her musical life and special stories behind beloved classics such as ‘Campfire’, ‘When Time Passes’, ‘Face’, and ‘Between Those Who Miss Each Other’.

In the 1970s, singer Park In-hee led the golden age of Korean folk music; beyond singing, she wrote poetry and hosted broadcasts, emerging as a leading intellectual artist who helped shape youth culture of the time.

True to the nickname ‘singing poet’, she won broad public love with songs imbued with literary sensibility, and by writing her own poems and releasing poetry recitation albums, she played a major role in popularizing spoken poetry.

KBS

Formed in 1969 with Lee Pil-won, the mixed-gender duo ‘Toi et Moi’ ignited a new wave for coed duos, gaining explosive popularity on college campuses from the release of its first album in 1970. In particular, the track ‘Between Those Who Miss Each Other’ on the second album is regarded as her first self-authored work (lyrics∙composition) that opened the era of women singer-songwriters.

The program also introduces stories from her days as a radio DJ, when she was as beloved as a singer. Hosting three programs a day, Park In-hee handled everything herself from script writing to music selection, and at the time she was counted among the busiest hosts and top DJs in broadcasting. The reason she suddenly decided to leave for the United States amid a grueling daily routine totaling six hours will be revealed on the show.

The origin story of ‘Campfire’, loved nationwide as a camp song, is also revealed. Park Geon-ho, who later became a leading Korean lyricist, visited with a poem he had written in high school, and Park In-hee set it to music herself and completed it as a song.

Her more than 60-year friendship with Sister Lee Hae-in is also highlighted. First meeting in middle school, the two have supported each other in life and art over many years and maintained a deep friendship, and the hidden story contained in the signature song by Park In-hee, ‘Face’, can likewise be confirmed on the broadcast.

An alumna who entered the Department of French Language and Literature at Sookmyung Women University in the class of 1964, Park In-hee visits her alma mater for the first time in a while in this broadcast and spends meaningful time with juniors. She also revisits memories from her student days as the first-term head of the broadcasting club, reflecting on her youth and musical life.

Park In-hee, a first-generation female folk singer-songwriter who loved poetry and sang it. Even in her eighties, she remains like a shy young girl, lingering warmly in our memories like spring sunshine.

The musical journey of singer Park In-hee, who has lived a life as beautiful as poetry, will be unveiled to home viewers at 11:10 p.m. on June 14 in the Park In-hee episode of ‘Songcumentary Back to the Music Season 2’.