Yun Sim-deok | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Yun Sim-deok |
| Born | 25 July 1897 Pyongyang,Joseon |
| Died | 4 August 1926(1926-08-04) (aged 29) Korea Strait |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, stage actress |
| Years active | 1924–1926 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 윤심덕 |
| Hanja | 尹心悳 |
| Revised Romanization | Yun Sim-deok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yun Sim-tŏk |
| Art name | |
| Hangul | 수선 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Suseon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Susŏn |
Yun Sim-deok (Korean: 윤심덕;Hanja: 尹心悳; 25 July 1897 – 4 August 1926) was a Korean singer.[1][2] She was the country's first professionalsoprano.[3]
Yun was born inPyongyang in 1897. She studied at the Pyongyang Girls' Middle and High Schools, and graduated from Kyongsong Women's Teaching College inSeoul in 1914. After graduation she became a primary school teacher inWonju.[2]
After teaching for one year, Yun went to Japan, becoming the first Korean to study at theTokyo Music School. In Japan, she met and fell in love with a married English literature student,Kim U-jin, with whom she had an affair.[3]
After graduating from music school, Yun returned to Korea, where she debuted as a soprano in 1923. Though audiences were impressed by her powerful voice, she was unable to make a living performing Western classical music,[1] and became a pop singer and actress to support herself.[3]
Yun and Kim U-jin committed suicide together in 1926, jumping off a passenger ship en route fromSimonoseki toBusan. The shocking news caused a sensation in Korea, and Yun's 1926 recording of "Hymn of Death" (사의 찬미; also called "Death Song") sold a record 100,000 copies following her death.[3]
Yun's most famous recording, 1926's "Hymn of Death," is considered the first "popular"(yuhaeng changga) Korean song. It was recorded inOsaka by the Japanese Nitto recording company, with Yun's sister accompanying her on piano. The song is set to the tune of "Waves of the Danube" byIon Ivanovici.[4]
Two films have been made about Yun. The first, a 1969 film titledYun Sim-Deok, was directed by An Hyeon-cheol (안현철) and starredMoon Hee.[5] The second was a 1991 film calledDeath Song, directed byKim Ho-sun and starringChang Mi-hee. The film won numerous awards inSouth Korea, including Best Film at the 1991Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 1991Chunsa Film Art Awards.[6] A television series was also made in 2018 titledThe Hymn of Death.[7]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
