Singer Jang Sa-ik releases new album in four years

South Korean singer Jang Sa-ik has made a comeback with his new album in four years, and is scheduled to hold a concert called “Self-portrait Seven” at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday. “Now that I’ve reached the age of seventy, I’ve come to think about time,” Jang said with his unique smile that draws wrinkles on his face. The smile seemed both bitter and sweet.

Jang is also planning to hold a solo concert at the Moscow International House of Music (Dom Muzyki) next February, hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Russia. Dom Muzyki is one of the most representative performance centers in Russia, and Svetlanov Hall, the largest hall of the center, is where Jang will put on a performance. A concert for the friendship between the two countries was once held at the hall, but this is the first time that the stage is fully given to a South Korean singer.

“I look into a mirror every day, but what I’ve seen is only the outside, not the back where my true self lies,” Jang said with a smile. “I always feel ashamed and humbled, but as in the poem of Yun Dong-ju, I miss myself in the end. Sunrise is beautiful, but sunset is more magnificent. Gingko trees have plain-featured flowers, but they stand out in every autumn with beautiful colors, don’t they?”


imi@donga.com