JANG Sa-ik | Arirang

Songs make people happier when they are happy and more sorrowful when they are sad. This is true of the music of Jang Sa-ik, whose songs inspire hope in life by, ironically, touching upon death.On a day in November in1994, about 400 people packed a small, 100-seat theater near Hongik University in Seoul. A man appeared on the stage. He was making his debut as a singer. He sang songs in his own unique style, which was neither popular music nor traditional Korean music. He was overwhelmed by bliss. He was happy because, at last, he found the answer to a question he had long asked to himself: "Why was I born?" He told himself: "Oh! I came into the world to do this."
So he started the music life of the master vocal artist. The man who made his debut at a 100-seat theater has grown to now perform in the 3.000-seated Sejong Cultural Center for the Performing Arts and on stages in Japan, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. Since the beginning, his public performances has been going on for more than a decade, and many of his concerts have been sold out.
Jang maintains an earnest and unique vocalization and singing style wherever he performs. He started music pretty late in life. However, he was not in a hurry, was not preoccupied with popularity and tried to build his own music world. He enthralled his fans.His identity
Whatever the song sung by him belongs to the genre of Jang Sa-ik music. Sometimes, he churns out explosive sounds, which then move to elegant and calm tunes. His sound is kaleidoscopic. Through him, songs become magical and he transforms sounds into songs. That is why his songs do not belong to any particular genre. They are only the "music of Jang Sa-ik."
The artist is not bound by the song's rhythm. If he wants to extend the intervals of rhythmic movement, he freely squeezes in between them and stretches them out without any hesitation. There is no doubt he has great empathy with his audiences, with whom he breathes together and communicates through music.
For three years, Jang played the taepyeongso (Korean traditional double-reed wind instrument) for a samulnori(music played by four percussionists) troupe before he began singing. The samulnori performance, which is led by the player of the kkwaenggwari, a brass gong, allows for much variation. During that time, Jang learned how to transcend rhythms freely, immerse himself into the fun and exhilaration of music and gain confidence in expressing his emotions.
To him, songs mean much more than the music. They are narratives of life, and can console people in grief and offer them a tonic. This is why he tries to fill his songs with sincerity of life rather than simply seeking to perfect them musically. Because of his obsession with sincerity, the lyrics of Jang's songs easily sink into and are united with the emotions of his audiences.
He is an avid reader of poetry. He said he feels great excitement when he read poems and they just become songs naturally. He has written songs with lyrics based on some reputed poems, such as "Twilight Road" by So Chong-ju, "Back to Heaven" by Chun Sang-byung, "This Ain't It" by Kim Yong-taek and "Flower Watching" by Kim Hyung-young.
These songs blend the poetic language refined and polished by the poets and Jang's indigenous, exquisite timbre -- resonating beauty to make audiences feel exhilarated. In addition, there are songs through which he expresses the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness he experienced in his life. They include "Jjillekkot" (wild rose), in which he sings about the difficulties he faced before he made his debut as a singer in his mid-40s, and "Coughing," which is about his father who died of lung cancer. These songs penetrate the hearts of those who listen to them.
What charms people more than the songs is Jang Sa-ik himself. It is quite natural that his fans often get confused whether they like the maestro Jang or his songs. It is because they see his life is identified through his songs. Like his songs, he is supple, candid and humble. His life more resembles a jjillekkot than a rose. He rides the bus because he longs to meet people.
'You can only see life when you know what death is'
Nine of the 30 songs composed by Jang are relate to death. His first album, "The Road to Heaven," third album, "The Sea of Huh Huh," and sixth album, "Flower Watching," are all led by the title songs singing of death. There are more, such as the "Twilight Road," "Tomb," "Father" and "Back to Heaven."
Jang sings about death frequently because he wants to narrate stories about life. Death and life are two sides of the same coin. People can be sincere about life only when they are sincere about death. Death allows us to learn about the limitations of life. We, therefore, are humbled before death. Death teaches us how to live. What Jang Sa-ik wants to tell us is not the despair of death, but the hope of life and new beginnings.
Musical talent is not the only gift Jang was endowed with. Having inherited the artistic flair of his father, who played farmers' music, Jang plays the taepyeongso well. He also boasts his exceptional skills in Korean calligraphy. A top fashion designer once used Jang's calligraphy as a major motif in clothing presented at a Paris show. It received great praise from there.
Jang is also a good writer. His letters are full of poetic expressions in beautiful handwriting -- they simply amuse and impress readers. He must have inherited talent in music, literature and calligraphy, which is rooted in his open mind and character. Like an innocent and naïve child, he embraces people and things around him as they are.
Jang Sa-ik remains the same even through his photos. His photographs show what an unpretentious man he is. Photographer Kim Nyung-man says: "I have taken pictures of so many people for the past several decades. But no one has been as freewheeling and unaffected as him before the camera."
Jang simply has an innocent, naïve and liberal soul -- which is what his music is all about.
Jang lives in a house on the foot of Mount Bukak, where he can see Mount Inwang as well. Birds often enter the yard of the house, where they drink water and warble.
As for the birds' warbling, some says they are singing songs and others say they are crying out. Life is to death what song is to cry. Jang Sa-ik the maestro makes people sing and cry throughhis music. Music is the reason why he was born into this world and why he lives so happily.