“This song has nothing to do with fanning hostility against Japan and instead was intended to promote reconciliation and overcoming of differences. I hope my gesture could show to everybody that this song praying for peaceful unification was produced for good ends and ultimately it may be used to improve the relationship between the two Koreas.”
“I want this song to be used by everyone in the world free of charge. I just want them to think about the beautiful island of Dokdo and unification of the peninsula while listening to it. I won’t succumb to the unstated pressure and unfair treatment to my free expression.”
— Lee Seung-cheol, singer
The music contents Lee will make available to the public are three-folds, including one sung with a choir consisting of North Korean defectors, one by himself, and one sung in English lyrics. (image: acrofan.com/Wikimedia Common)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean singer Lee Seung-cheol said on November 12 that he will release free of charge his song “The Day” he sang for the first time at the island of Dokdo in August, in protest of the measures taken by the Japanese immigration authorities a few days ago.
An official with Mr. Lee’s talent management agency Jinnenwon Music Works said, “We believe the decision by Japanese immigration officers to detain him for hours and reject his entrance to the country was in retaliation to his performance in Dokdo.
The music contents Lee will make available to the public are three-folds, including one sung with a choir consisting of North Korean defectors, one by himself, and one sung in English lyrics. In addition, he pledged he would donate all the proceeds coming from performances related to this song in the future.
Chung Won-bo, a member of a music band NeighBro, who composed the song, said he would donate all the copyright income attributed to him through the Korea Music Copyright Association to organizations involved in causes like national unification, Dokdo territorial claims, and peace advocacy.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
