In the 70s and 80s, all the music-loving youngsters in Seoul gathered in Sinchon.

Q. I'm curious about the atmosphere of Sinchon, known as the birthplace of underground music during the peak era of Songgolmae in the 70s and 80s when youth culture and art were flourishing. 

Sinchon is a university district with three major colleges packed in one location. I was a '72 batch student. I attended an aviation school nearby and spent a lot of time hanging out in Sinchon until I joined the military. Back then, many young people would gather in music cafes or music tearooms like ‘Eagle Tearoom’ in front of Yonsei University where you could request songs and the DJ would play them. There was also a large music café called ‘Gaya’, and I often visited a café called ‘O.X.’ in front of Ewha University.

In 1978, I participated in a university music festival, and from 1979, I began serious band activities. There was a famous club called ‘Under the Umbrella’ on the fifth floor of a building at the Sinchon rotary, where we often performed in our early days as a band. We also performed at ‘Com 88’, a club built across the street after the 1988 Olympics were confirmed. Many students and young people visited. Anyway, in the 70s and 80s, all the music lovers and those who partied a bit gathered in Sinchon.

Q. In the 80s, when various music genres were beloved, why was Sinchon able to become a stage for underground music? 

It was probably because there were a lot of students around. There is no other place in Korea with as many university students as Sinchon. With three comprehensive universities, it's huge. It’s almost like Boston in the U.S. though now it has become completely commercialized, back then it was the center of university culture.

In those days, young people all listened to rock music. Since the late 70s, school bands from various universities won prizes at university music festivals, and teams like Sand Pebbles, Runway, Black Tetra, and Oxen 80 poured into the music industry. At that time, each university had several rock bands. It was before hip-hop emerged, and rock was the music of the young.

Q. There was only one club-free day—a memorial day out of 365 days.
What were young Bae Chul-soo's concerns during an era when he performed daily as if going to work? 

The broadcasting fees were meager. At the time, singers only needed to bring themselves to the broadcasts, but bands had to bring all their instruments, making it more costly. Also, since royalties and such were not established, the money received when signing with a record company was all you got. It didn’t matter how much the album sold afterward, so the only place to earn money was to perform all night at clubs.

Clubs wouldn’t close, except for one day on Memorial Day. You’d spend all night at clubs the whole year. After doing it for so long, it just became a job. It wasn’t about creative or artistic activities, but it truly became labor. It was tough. You ask why I quit music?

Don’t all young people have some fear about the future? I was supposed to get a job after graduating from college, but I chose music instead. Since I started a band, I thought I should make sure the band was good. Then, I thought I should be good at music. When you start as a professional, music isn't just about technique, but my technical skills were quite insufficient. I realized how different we were from professional bands. Like young people today, back then, too, I was probably busy solving immediate worries and anxieties.

Q. They say a man can have his own room only during the poor single days.
When did young Bae Chul-soo first become independent?

When my family was struggling, I started living outside from the third year of high school. I stayed at a friend’s house where I was supposed to study, but contrary to their parents' wishes, we ended up playing and not achieving much (laughs). In my freshman year, I lived in a boarding house near school, so I was already independent then. After being discharged from the military in ‘77, and after participating in the music festival in '78, I lived while supporting my parents with my sibling. 

Kids these days wouldn’t understand. In our time, even graduating from high school made you feel like a complete adult. I never discussed my career path with my parents from my senior years in high school. I decided my university for myself, decided I should do music, and went about things that way.

Q. Introduce the exceptional style and energy of 80s K-rock which rivaled today's hip-hop and K-pop's popularity.

All music we played, to be honest, was Western music. We started by following bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin.

Also, thinking of what Korean rock music would be, Mr. Shin Joong-hyun formed a band called 'Shin Joong-hyun and Yup Juns' in the early 70s. There's an exceptionally popular song called 'Beautiful Woman'. He composed it using uniquely Korean notes. Listening to that song as a child made me realize that this could also be rock music.

While performing with Songgolmae, I always thought about trying to create more Korean rock music, attempting various things. I’m not sure how successful I was, but I made efforts.

Q. Being known as the 'public officer of radio' during your 33 years as the DJ of <Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp>, what invaluable insights have you gained from sticking to one thing for such a long time? 

I've been like this since I was young. I was always quick and performed quite well in everything, whether it was studying, football, chess, or Go. But I was never exceptional like an expert in any one. At one point, I realized this would be my biggest flaw.

However, when I began working as a radio DJ in 1990, I thought, ‘This broadcasting work suits me perfectly’. A broadcaster doesn’t need to know too much about any one thing. Knowing too much actually lessens your interest in what the other person is saying. If we discuss fashion, we invite a fashion expert; when a soccer player is on, we talk about soccer; if an actor comes, we talk about movies. This became a strength and why I continued as a DJ.

If you do one thing long enough, there’s that 10,000-hour rule. Ten years into being a pop music DJ, I became quite an expert. After doing it for around 30 years, people now definitely recognize my expertise. Everyone would think, if someone has been laying tiles for 30 years, you’d want to hire them. I think that’s the logic.

Q. Even in an era with such diverse forms and methods of consuming music, what do you think draws listeners to tune into <Bae Chul-soo's Music Camp> every evening? 

Nowadays, everyone listens to music on their cell phones. If you keep listening to music recommended by machines, you end up in a little box. You might want to listen to diverse music, but if it's just algorithm-recommended tracks all the time, it gets boring quickly. So, when people want to hear something a bit different, they turn to the radio. The radio doesn't just play music; it includes conversations in between. 

Also, what's important is that sense of sharing music with many others right now. Listening together, even if I’m in Seoul, someone in Busan is listening, and perhaps others overseas as well. People seem to like that feeling.

They say humans feel great stability when part of a community. Especially in Korea, where the culture is strongly collectivist, people tend to enjoy collective listening. We often receive stories from listeners like, ‘I listened to this song all day, and I want to hear it together on Music Camp.’

Though one might realize later that something is impossible, in youth,
it’s not just ‘we change the world’ but also 'we change the culture!'

Q. It is said that you quit smoking for the iconic voice synonymous with Bae Chul-soo, and you take care to use correct speech and standard language on broadcasts.

At some point, I realized that what I say is broadcasted nationwide, and the juniors and people listen, empathize, and perhaps even imitate. I felt a responsibility to be careful. Imagine how daunting it is for anyone to take your words as golden rule.

Though it’s not something I was compelled to do, I thought I should have some responsibility. It’s a job that influences people. Doing music or broadcasting should ideally have a positive impact. 

Q. You are always associated with terms like ‘eternal youth’ and ‘symbol of youth’. How do you perceive the difference between the youth of yesterday and today?
Regardless, is there a universal symbol of youth across generations? 

How should I put it, today's young people seem like kids from advanced countries. They are not shy, which is great. During our time, we would just bow down and couldn't talk, but young people today seem to express themselves well. While older people might see it as rude, I don’t think it is. It's much better that way. They clearly express themselves, though at times it’s a bit annoying. (laughs)

On the other hand, I think the symbol of youth is rebellion, but it seems today’s youth don't rebel much. Perhaps it’s because they are kids from advanced nations. In our time, we rejected the older generation, parents, anyone, it was all about rebelling! Isn’t it natural to hold such thinking when young? Even if one realizes later that something is impossible, in youth, it’s about ‘we are changing the world’ and beyond that ‘we are changing the culture’, rejecting all the current systems and going for rebellion, but nowadays it seems they are a bit too compliant with the system.

Q. As a DJ introducing new pop music daily, are there any recent artists or songs that felt particularly fresh? 

Listening to new music continuously makes it hard to pick just one song or artist. There’s this artist called Lizzo who recently received a Grammy. She’s a young lady who initially majored in flute in college, and her confident attitude is truly impressive. In the past, being overweight, people would try to hide and diet, but she is different. Her music is amazing too. 

I also really enjoy the singer Brandi Carlile nowadays, who’s quite aged but emerged strongly a few years back. 

A group of strong individualists coming together
to create harmony and produce excellent music is a truly beautiful and noble endeavor.

Q. In the '<Bae Camp> Music Camp Live' segment, you consistently invite young indie bands. How do you think Korean rock can continue to be loved by the masses and become more vibrant, given that rock is not yet mainstream in Korea?

The era of rock music is over. Now, it is just one of many music genres. Until the 30s and 40s, jazz music was mainstream globally, including Korea. Swing jazz, big band jazz were exceedingly popular, and there were even bands in every broadcasting station. Names like Ibongjo Band, Kim Inbae Band, even radios and TVs had bands.

Now, both rock and jazz are entirely minor genres. But jazz music is still being played today, and the various techniques and musical structures tried in jazz have been incorporated into all music genres. That’s really enough. The style, rebelliousness, and ideas of rock can and should infuse into K-pop and various music genres.

Q. Celebrating Songgolmae's 40th anniversary last year, you successfully concluded a national tour. You mentioned it wasn't