[Sportschosun Jo Min-jeong Reporter] Two years have passed since singer and stage director Kim Min-ki died.
Kim Min-ki died on July 21, 2024, at the age of 73 after battling stomach cancer. It was later revealed that he had been fighting the disease since being diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in the fall of 2023, deepening the public's sorrow.
When the news of his death broke, the cultural and arts community was plunged into grief. At his funeral altar, colleagues who had worked with him, including actors Hwang Jung-min, Seol Kyung-gu, Jang Hyun-sung, Ryu Seung-beom, and Kim Hee-won, as well as singers Yoon Sang and Chang Kiha, came one after another to pay their final respects.
Kim Min-ki began his music career as a singer-songwriter who represented Korean folk music, forming the folk duo Dobidu with Kim Young-se. He later left a powerful mark with songs that defined an era, including "Morning Dew" from his first solo album, as well as "Sangnoksu," "Kkot Piuneun A-i," and "The Song of an Old Soldier."
His legacy on stage was equally profound. In 1991, Kim opened the small theater Hakjeon in Daehangno and devoted himself to advancing performance culture by producing numerous works, including "Subway Line 1," "Blood Brothers," and "Gaettongi."
Hakjeon was also a space that nurtured many figures in the cultural and arts scene. Singers Kim Kwang-seok, Yoon Do-hyun, and Park Hak-ki, along with actors Seol Kyung-gu, Hwang Jung-min, Kim Yoon-seok, Cho Seung-woo, and Jang Hyun-sung, all grew through the stage there. However, Hakjeon could not overcome Kim's declining health and years of financial difficulties, and it closed in March 2024, the year it marked its 33rd anniversary.
Jo Min-jeong Reporter mj.cho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
