Song So-hee

This is a Korean name; the family name is Song.

Song So-hee

Background information
Native name	송소희 宋素喜
Born	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea
Genres	gugak, minyo
Instruments	Vocal
Years active	2002-present
Website	http://www.songsohee.com/main.html

Song Sohee (송소희) is a Korean musician who specializes in minyo, traditional Korean folk songs. She has been active since childhood and has often been called a 'young female master singer.' She became famous nationwide after she performed 'Changbu Taryeong', a well-known Korean traditional folk songs, at the KBS 'National Singing Contest' held by KBS in Korea. She left a deep impression upon the viewers with her performance. Since then she has been invited to perform at various events, both at home and abroad. Currently she is a highschool student and successfully manages her life as a student and a performer.

Life

Family

Sohee was born in Jochiwon, Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea on October 20(September 19 on Lunar calendar), 1997. She is the eldest daughter of Song Geunyoung, her father, and Yang Boklye, her mother, and she has a sister, Soyoung, who is two years younger.

Childhood and Education

Sohee displayed her talent in music at the age of three. Her parents learned about her talent through nursery teachers, and led her to experience various genres of music. When she became five years old, she showed an uncommon gift for singing minyo, Korean traditional folk songs. Noticing her gift, her parents decided to seek professional assistance to further develop her skills and abilities in minyo, and also in Korean traditional musical instruments. Since then, So-hee received specialist training, in singing minyo and sijochang and in playing samul nori, and gayageum.

She was able to acquire strong foundations in gugak, Korean traditional music, through the help of Ms. Park, Seok-sun, who runs Hongjuk gugak Acamedy in Hongseong. She received training from Ms. Park for seven years from the age of five to eleven. Her training included not only sijochang, minyo, and gayageum but also hypogastric breathing and clear diction for singing minyo s and sijochang. Along with Ms. Park's training, she studied under [Gwang-su Lee], a well-known samul nori master. Through his help, she leanred to play kkwaenggwari and was able to expand her understanding of nongak.

Sohee went to Deoksan elementary school from 2004 to 2009, and Imseong middle school from 2010 to 2012, both in Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do. She has attended Hoseo high school since 2013.

Unlike other young students with special musical talent, She decided to go to ordinary high school rather than high school of arts. It was because of her father's judgment that spending her adolescence with family and friends at home is better for her than going to a gugak high school far away from home.

Career

Sohee became famous nationwide after she performed 'Changbu Taryeong' at the KBS National Singing Contest. Her performance left a deep impression upon the viewers. She won the grand prize in the contest and became the youngest grand prize winner in the 29 years of the National Singing Contest's history.

Since then she performed on several popular Korean TV programs such as Star King, KBS Open Concert, and Yoondohyun's Love Letter. She sang 'Changbu Taryeong, Taepyongga, Arirang, Batnori, Gunbam Taryeong, and Battuiwara on these programs and became more famous.

Her appearance on Star King in 2008 led her to another important training opportunity from Master Lee Ho-yoen, who is a specialist in Kyeong-Gi minyo. Having been impressed by So-hee's talent, Master Lee volunteered to provide training for her on a regular basis.

"She was born with a gift for singing Minyo. She has high-pitched voice tone and it's a clear, ringing voice (which is essential for singing minyo). She also has an extraordinary sense of pitch which enables her to learn new songs with ease. Also, her Bangulmok, a singing technique of Korean traditional music is exquisite"^[1]

Since 2008, she has been invited to perform at various events, both at home and abroad. Her main domestic events are Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea in 2008, Baekje International Cultural Festival in 2010, Jeonju International Sori Festival in 2010, and Public Broadcasters International Seoul Meeting in 2011.

Sohee's popularity rapidly spread around the world due to her online videos and also the online replay services of Korean TV programs she performed at. Not only Koreans living abroad but also foreigners could watch her performances. Many of them were stunned by her performances and fell in love with her and minyo.^[2]

Such international recognition provided her with opportunities to perform abroad. Since 2009, she has been invited to perform at official events and a variety of culture exchange events in various countries including Japan, Russia, US, and so on. Some of those are Korea-Japan Culture Exchange in 2009, celebration of 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korean and Russia in 2010, Korean Festival in 2011, and Opening events of Korean Cultural Center India in 2012. In 2010, the government chose her as "Best Korean of the Year", an yearly award for someone who has graced and enriched the nation.^[3] In 2014, Sohee sang "Arirang" at the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Paralympics on March 10th, and also won first place on the July 26th installment of 'Immortal Song 2'.

Fans and Supporters

Since Sohee became recognized with her extraordinary performances on several TV programs, fans all over the country, smitten by her outstanding talent and charm, have formed fan clubs and supported her. They run fan sites^[4]^[5] on the internet.

Some fans provide more than mental support for Sohee. Park Ji-hyun, a Hanbok Master, is one of them. She contributes all of the beautiful Hanboks Sohee wears on stage. She was so impressed by Sohee's performance in KBS National Singing Contest in 2008 that she volunteered to provide Hanboks for So-hee. Since then, she has been supporting So-hee in every performance with her masterpieces. The Hanboks she designs for Sohee are fusion Hanboks that combine the beauty of the traditional Hanbok with that of modern costume.

There are also supporters' associations for So-hee abroad. The most recent one is ‘Song So-hee America Supporters' Association', organized in 2012 in New Jersey, U.S.^[6] It was formed after her performance there through the efforts of Han Jiseon, a representative of Media Joa. Currently Ms. Lee Hwaseon is the chair of the organization.^[7]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Song So-hee.

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