{"id":566,"date":"2024-10-05T23:04:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T23:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/?p=566"},"modified":"2025-11-16T01:29:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T01:29:53","slug":"love-grows-in-your-mouth-han-dae-su-and-music-of-the-fourth-republic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/2024\/10\/05\/love-grows-in-your-mouth-han-dae-su-and-music-of-the-fourth-republic\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Grows in Your Mouth: Han Dae Su and Music of the Fourth Republic"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chloe Jung ’27<\/em><\/p>\n

On May 16, 1961, General Park Chung Hee, back dropped by an unstable democratic system \u201cparalyzed by internal rivalries,\u201d social stagnation, and an impoverished people, successfully launched a military coup, historically marking the death of the Second Republic and the birth of his 18-year-rule as \u2018president\u2019 of South Kore<\/span>a<\/span>. The following two decades would be ones of radical demonstrations, indignant dissidents, and a newly written autocratic constitution called the Yushin Order<\/span>. It was amidst this era of censorship, demonstration, and military rule that the godfather of Korean folk music arose.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Han Dae Su, born in Busan on March 12, 1948, was a child of both the West and East. His fathe<\/span>r, an aspiring student of nuclear physics, left Han with his mother at an early age to pursue his studies at Cornell University in the United States but vanished shortly upon his arrival<\/span>. After his father\u2019s mysterious disappearance and his mother\u2019s <\/span>remarriage, Han decided to venture across the Pacific to New Hampshire and New York and it was there that he began to write his songs, heavily inspired by the raging folk music scene and the hippie movement of the 60s<\/span>. But his father\u2019s sudden reappearance with a white American wife left Han confused and despondent and, after a sympathetic and pleading invitation by his mother, he returned to Seoul in 1968.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Performing in clubs and bars, Han found an eager audience in the youth of Seoul. One day, a performance of his was stumbled upon by Lee Baek Won, a producer for TBC (one of the two TV channels of that time) who offered him a spot on his nighttime variety show after listening to his set<\/span>4<\/span>. His performance on TBC the next night was a raging success and Han found himself getting recognized in town and on the street. His notoriety was put on pause when he was drafted for mandatory Korean military service in 1971 but immediately upon his return in 1974, he released his first album (\u201cThe Long, Long Road\u201d) with the famous song <\/span>\ubb3c\uc880\uc8fc\uc18c<\/span>, <\/span>(<\/span>mul jom juso) <\/span><\/i>translating to \u2018Gimme Some water.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

However, his successful musical career was not going unnoticed. Culturally, there had already been discourse circulating about the wild American hippies and their crazed rampage of sex, drugs, and \u2018freedom.\u2019 Politically, South Korea and the U.S., while not adversaries, held a rocky relationship throughout the Yushin era. The two countries had mutual dependence in that Park, despite his \u201cnationalist inclinations and deep-rooted distrust of U.S. intentions,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0could not completely detach South Korea from U.S. support and protection, especially after the Korean War. The United States on the other hand, while unsupportive of Park\u2019s authoritarian regime, understood South Korea\u2019s essential role as an \u201coutpost of the \u2018free world\u2019 to contain communist expansion in East Asia\u201d<\/span>\u00a0This long haired Korean man who sang about love, freedom, and peace, and whose music emanated the rock and folk styles of America\u2019s finest\u2013 there was no doubt in the government\u2019s mind where Han stood. \u201cThe Long, Long Road\u201d and the following album<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cRubber Shoes\u201d were both subsequently banned in South Korea until the late 80s, when the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Y<\/span>u<\/span>shin<\/span> era finally came to a close.<\/span><\/p>\n

The anti-government title that Han earned among the youth caused his songs, especially <\/span>\ubb3c\uc880\uc8fc\uc18c<\/span> (Gimme some water), to become anthems for the many protests for democracy that permeated the 70s and 80s. The students in particular belted them with fiery vigor as they marched through the streets, pleading for civil liberties and freedom of speech<\/span>.<\/span> But in an interview with Han by the <\/span>Korean Herald<\/span><\/i>, Han denounced this political title<\/span>. He spoke confidently that, despite the misinterpretation of both the authorities and the activist youth, his songs were about his \u201cthirst for love.\u201d He was \u201chungry for love and freedom,\u201d but freedom<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>was interpreted politically.\u201d<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This phenomenon of a man\u2019s unintentional but profound effect on history truly hit me hard. The world was not perfect in Han\u2019s time nor is it perfect now\u2013 we see its suffering every day, whether through the news, social media, or word of mouth. But love and the love of love exists everywhere, not only in the sphere that we deem \u2018political,\u2019 and it is this omniscient status that shows its true power. Let us continue to love everywhere we go, no matter the time or person. We may find its effects snowballing into a much greater movement, just as Han\u2019s love<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>did.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bibliography\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Park Chung-Hee.” <\/span>Encyclopedia Britannica<\/span><\/i>, October 22, 2024. <\/span>https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Park-Chung-Hee<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hoo-ran, Kim. \u201c[Eye Interview] \u2018Peace and Love Is the Best Vaccine!\u2019\u201d The Korea Herald, November 19, 2020. <\/span>https:\/\/www.koreaherald.com\/view.php?ud=20201119001090<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim, Byung-Kook, and Vogel, Ezra F., eds. The Park Chung Hee Era : The Transformation of South Korea. Cambridge: <\/span>Harvard University Press<\/span><\/i>, 2013.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Korea.net. “Korean Ceramics: A Rich Heritage.” Korea.net, 2014. <\/span>https:\/\/www.korea.net\/NewsFocus\/Culture\/view?articleId=118133<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Matt VanVolkenburg. “Hahn Dae-soo’s 18-day rollercoaster ride of fame in 1968”. The Korea<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Times, 2020. <\/span>https:\/\/www.koreatimes.co.kr\/www\/nation\/2024\/10\/113_300615.html<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chloe Jung ’27 On May 16, 1961, General Park Chung Hee, back dropped by an unstable democratic system \u201cparalyzed by internal rivalries,\u201d social stagnation, and an impoverished people, successfully launched a military coup, historically marking the death of the Second Republic and the birth of his 18-year-rule as \u2018president\u2019 of South Korea. The following […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1825,"featured_media":567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-2025"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/files\/2025\/11\/d7cde3a6bd801374ac4fb096fbd6a56c.600x600x1-1452901013.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1825"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/lotus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}