[Sportschosun reporter Park Ah-ram] Singer-songwriter Kang Seung-sik, who composed Jang Eun-sook’s signature songs "Dance with Me" and "Your First Love," has died. He was 72.
His wife, singer Yang Mi-kyung, told Yonhap News Agency in a phone call on the 19th that Kang Seung-sik died around 1 a.m. that day while receiving treatment for sepsis at a hospital in Jeonju, Jeonbuk.
Born in Seoul in 1954, Kang was the fourth of five siblings and the brother of Sun Woo-seong, the singer behind "Champs-Élysées."
Before turning to music, he also made a name for himself as an athlete. According to pop music critic Park Seong-seo, he played soccer while attending the affiliated middle and high school of Chung-Ang University, where he studied alongside former national team players Kim Hwang-ho and Jo Young-jeung. He also worked as an amateur boxer and served as a sparring partner for world champion Hong Soo-hwan.
Kang began performing in 1973 as an acoustic guitar singer at music listening rooms such as Shellbourg, and made his official debut the following year with "One Day, Two Days, Three Days." He later wrote and sang songs such as "Don't Forget My Heart" and "Twilight," building a career as a singer-songwriter.
The works that made his name widely known were Jang Eun-sook’s hit songs. He gained popularity after composing "Dance with Me" and "Your First Love," both released in 1978. He later expanded into record production, working on Park Sang-gyu’s "A Wandering Life" and Kang Young-sook’s "With an Empty Heart."
In the mid-1990s, he moved to the United States, where he continued his career by hosting a music program on a local Korean-language broadcaster. While living there, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer and underwent a gastrectomy. He later said he wanted to be buried in Korea, and returned home in 2003 before settling in Jeonju and Samnye, Jeonbuk.
Critic Park Seong-seo said Kang, who had difficulty digesting food after the surgery, began living in Jeonju after finding foods and makgeolli that suited him.
The late singer served as head of the Jeonbuk branch of the Korea Singers Association and also took part in founding the Jeonbuk Singers Association and the Yeongho-Nam Cultural Exchange Association, steadily contributing to the development of local music culture.
He is survived by his wife, singer Yang Mi-kyung, and their four children. The funeral altar has been set up at VIP Room 402 of Jeonju Geumseong Funeral Home in Jeonbuk, and the funeral procession will be held at 9 a.m. on the 21st.
tokkig@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
