The craze for `C’est Si Bon Friends` continues

“The craze for C’est Si Bon (the legendary music cafe in the 1970s) has been here for three to four years but it is still popular. I can’t believe this. It just makes me think work harder.”

Kim Se-hwan, a 66-year-old singer, was on a high note over the phone on Thursday afternoon. His excitement and nervousness could be felt over the phone. The tickets for the “C’est Si Bon Friends (Song Chang-sik, Yoon Hyung-ju, Kim Se-hwan and Lee Sang-byeok)” concert on Friday and Saturday have been almost sold out. It is an encore of the concert held in the Olympic Park in Seoul in April. The upcoming concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday. The ticket costs 88,000 won (80.3 U.S. dollars) to 165,000 won (150.62 dollars). For more information, please contact by telephone at 1544-7543.

“Seoul Citizens’ Hall, which was situated in the place of the current Sejong Art Center, was close to Mugyodong where C’est si bon, the music cafe, was located. Back then, it was a dream stage where we hoped to sing. When we got a trophy at the music award ceremony held at the hall in the 1970s, we had mixed feelings. It was symbolic because Myeongdong and Jongno were the only places for young people in Seoul.”

C’est Si Bon Friends will add a pop and trot medley to their repertoire at the two-hour encore concert. The order will be Kim Se-hwan, Yoon Hyung-ju, Song Chang-sik, Twinpolio (Song Chang-sik and Yoon Hyung-ju) and C’est si bon trio (Kim Se-hwan, Song Chang-sik and Yoon Hyung-ju). “We have three singers but five teams. We need more than four hours to sing but carefully selected the repertoire for the generations of the 1970s and 1980s.”

They will play songs such as “It’s Love,” “Rain Wayfarer,” “Love Mind,” “Wedding Cake,” and “A White Handkerchief.” Ham Chun-ho, one of Korea’s best guitarists, will join the team. Yoon Hyung-ju, 67, said, “During our concerts, I met many middle-aged people who missed the analogue culture. Both the audience and we felt as if we returned to the past. We’ll do our best as if this would be our last performance.”

The concert tour will also be held at Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Nov. 29. The ticket costs 77,000 won (70.29 dollars) to 110,000 won (101.32 dollars). (Contact information: 032-614-0343). Song Chang-sik will leave C’est Si Bon Friends for a while after the Incheon concert in pursuit of his personal interests.