[Handsome Rocker Arrives]② The Oppa with a 350:1 Competition Rate... 'The Never-Growing-Up Terius' Choi Yong-jun

'Galchae'·'Amado Geugeon' Singer Choi Yongjun Interview
"The Secret to Youth is Never Growing Up"
Wants to Present Music Everyone Can Enjoy, Not Music That Risks Life

"Maybe it was love, looking back those regrettable days keep coming to me as pain, my trembling heart makes me sad."

- From Choi Yong-jun's 'Maybe It Was'

Singer Choi Yongjun. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Group BTS's Jungkook, actress Park Bo-young, singers Harim, Seo Young-eun, Crush, and Loco. At first glance, these seemingly unrelated figures share one thing in common: they are all artists who have remade 'Maybe It Was.' Although 34 years have passed since its release, the hit song's original singer, Choi Yong-jun, who is still loved by the public, is currently busy rehearsing for the upcoming stage 'How Is It 4 - Terius Special' after three months. Following last December's concert, he says he is excited to meet fans again, laughing off compliments that his youthful, handsome appearance with moist eyes remains unchanged. "After the concert, I let my guard down and gained about 4kg. Among the performers in this show, I might be the heaviest... (The show is titled 'Terius') I feel a bit guilty. (laughs)"

His representative songs like 'Thursday Is Rainy' and 'Maybe It Was' were all ballads by coincidence, but he was a rocker who loved rock music deep in his bones. The boy who dreamed of becoming a singer since elementary school formed a band called 'Taebaeksanmaek' in high school and gained early recognition by performing on the stage of 'Rock World,' a live club in Itaewon run by the godfather of Korean rock, Shin Joong-hyun. "I caused some trouble in middle school, so my mother told me to learn guitar right after the high school entrance exam if I was going to be like that. So, I picked up the guitar as if it was fate and immersed myself in rock. At that time, I liked Ronnie James Dio the most and was captivated by his overwhelming skills. I formed a band with friends who were into heavy metal in my second year of high school, and after passing the Rock World audition at age 20, I was very active, opening concerts for groups like Boohwal and Sinawe."

A view of Taepyeong Theater in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul in the 1970s. After the theater closed, singer Shin Joong-hyun took over the venue and opened 'Rock World,' the country's first dedicated heavy metal concert hall.

While feeling free and soaring through rock music, tragedy silently came one day. "My father suddenly declared he was immigrating to Canada. It was a surprise notice at the time when my band was settling and I was about to fully pursue music activities. My father was strict and disapproved of my music career, so regardless of my wishes, my life in Canada began immediately." What was harder for him than adapting to a foreign country was the nostalgia for the musical foundation he left behind in Korea. His mother, seeing him suffer from depression while waiting daily to return, sent Choi Yong-jun back to Korea, saying he should try for a year in Korea and if it didn't work out, he could return to Canada.

Meanwhile, Taebaeksanmaek recruited another vocalist and released an album, and Choi Yong-jun, preparing an album as a vocalist for another band, was noticed by the practice room owner who recommended him to Oasis Records, where he debuted with a solo album in 1989. "At that time, Yoon Bok-hee was with Oasis and was releasing an album, so I was able to use the recording studio as a side job and ended up debuting by chance. The title track was 'Thursday Is Rainy,' but 'Maybe It Was' quietly gained popularity through word of mouth mainly in rock cafes and climbed to the top of request charts. This album's success gave me a reason to stay in Korea," his dramatic debut story continues as he truly becomes the protagonist of a drama with an exciting narrative.

Choi Yong-jun and Hwang In-jung, who appeared in the drama 'Galchae'.

In 1995, he was cast as the lead role Min Tae-in in the KBS drama 'Applause,' beating out 350 to 1 competition. Although stars like Kim Won-jun, Shin Sung-woo, and Jung Woo-sung were considered, the production team wanted a lead who was actually from a rock group and had guitar skills, so he was chosen. "In the drama, Min Tae-in is the vocalist of a star group called 'Eye of the Typhoon,' and during the audition, the PD asked if I could lose weight because I looked chubby. I fasted for a month and lost 13kg, and when I returned, I think the PD was impressed by my determination. I succeeded in casting, but the ratings were only in the 16% range. The competing show was the massive hit 'Sandglass.' (haha)" Although the drama's ratings were low, the OST was a huge hit. The theme song 'Applause,' which he wrote the lyrics for himself, sold about 500,000 copies at the time and is still frequently heard in karaoke rooms, making it one of his most beloved signature songs.

Singer Choi Yongjun. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

He cites 'not growing up' as the secret to his youth. The reason 'Applause' remains a beloved classic is that it fully conveys a man's honest and straightforward feelings about a breakup. Especially, most of his heartfelt lyrics evoke empathy because they are based on his own experiences of love and separation. "One day, wanting to break away from that pattern, I thought about other themes and came across death and reunification issues. 'Tiger with a Severed Waist,' released with the group K, was a song about reunification inspired by my father, who was a displaced person. This song led to several invitations from Defense TV and was a very meaningful project in many ways."

After 'Applause,' Choi Yong-jun distanced himself from music for a while but now says he wants to put aside the determination to pour everything into music and instead focus on enjoying his music with more people. "This year, I am planning a nationwide tour and working on new songs with group K. If I were to describe my music in one word, it would be 'memory.' I will work hard to create a fun time where the audience can recall those memories through music and have a great time."