By Below is a really good story in the Stars & Stripes about a former USFK servicemember that was reunited with the young girl he mentored in the 1970′s who went on to bigger and better things:
Despite the decades that have passed since he was a U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea, Ronald Lewis never stopped wondering what had become of the troubled teenage girl he and a few of his Army buddies befriended while they were here.
The girl wanted to become a nurse, but the odds were stacked against her. The child of a Korean woman and a black U.S. soldier who abandoned the family, the girl was born into a culture that shuns mixed-race people.
“My prayers have always been that she wouldn’t end up on the street,” Lewis said. “I prayed for her continuously.”
Then, a few months ago, the Delaware man was contacted by a 2nd Infantry Division representative who was helping the woman track down the guys she credits with helping set her life on the right course. Suspicious, Lewis did a Web search using the name by which she is now known — Insooni — and found that the girl has been a famous R&B singer here for more than 30 years, known as “the Tina Turner of South Korea.”
She has even performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
“I said, ‘Oh my god, it is her,’ ” Lewis said, his voice filling with pride. “I couldn’t believe it. We spent a lot of time together back then, and I never heard her sing, or even hum, anything.”
Insooni and Lewis have since talked by telephone and regularly exchange emails, and they plan to reunite this weekend while the singer is visiting the U.S. to check out colleges with her 17-year-old daughter.
Insooni said that Lewis and his friends “acted sort of like big brothers and surrogate fathers” to her in the early 1970s.
“Before I met them, I had repulsion about Americans because my family background and home environment were difficult,” she said. “But, after getting along with them, I came to feel all human beings are the same, and Americans are good.” [Stars & Stripes]
Read the rest at the link because like I said before it is a good story, however I found her comments about Americans to still be true to some extent today because when Koreans actually get to know Americans the stereotypes of GI’s they once held they often find to not be true.
By the way if you have never heard Insooni sing before, below is a video that shows what a great singer she is:
8:48 am on July 16th, 2011 1
What little I know about her, she is a real class act.
Being born the way she was, and growing up in the culture at that time, she would have ever reason to grow into a bitter, mean-spirited person.
Coming from that and dire poverty, in what was a poor country at the time, and then having made it rich, she’d have every reason to be a crappy diva.
I’ve long respected her for what she has done for orphans and orphanages. I also respected her for performing at North Korea Human Rights related functions.
The fact she wanted to track down these men after so much time also speaks well of her as a person.
(I remember back in 1996 or 97 when I’d hear one of her popular songs blasting from stereos in front of shops in downtown Wonju. I thought, “What a powerful voice.” She’s still the only Korean popular music singer I’ve ever really liked as far as music goes.)
9:22 am on July 16th, 2011 2
What a great story…I really like both: that she had success as a performer and, that she never forgot the G.I.s who had befriended her. This made my day!
9:53 am on July 16th, 2011 3
“(I remember back in 1996 or 97 when I’d hear one of her popular songs blasting from stereos in front of shops in downtown Wonju. I thought, “What a powerful voice.” She’s still the only Korean popular music singer I’ve ever really liked as far as music goes.)”
She’s still a popular singer and she still has a pretty heavy presence in the Korean entertainment industry. Yes, she’s a very good singer. But I find it funny with your and GI Korea’s comment about how great her singing is. If she wasn’t half black, you guys would be all over her about how she sucks, how Korean pop sucks, how Koreans can’t sing or dance, yadi yadi yad yad to no end. But since she’s half black, that makes her special?
Another popular half black artist is Yoon Mi-Rae, who’s a pretty good rapper/hip hop singer. But again, she too would be categorized as “sucks” if she wasn’t a half black mixed.
10:06 am on July 16th, 2011 4
Good ol’ Tom…
Once again accusing Americans of having racist attitudes.
Please tell me Tom — why is it that one of the ONLY options available to mixed blood Koreans – especially those who are half black – is to be in the entertainment business??
It’s because that is the only line of work they are allowed to do in Korea. Why is that Tom??
10:10 am on July 16th, 2011 5
Interesting story. I know that Insooni has taken time to perform at the USO many times. I always wondered why.
What’s more interesting is that she was willing to give up her career for her child. When she was pregnant, she went to Hawaii and waited to have the child. She told the newspapers that if the child looked black, she would stay in Hawaii permanently because she didn’t want the child to experience the same prejudices that she did when she was growing up.
10:10 am on July 16th, 2011 6
I’ve seen In Soon-i at the Dragon Hill a few times visiting with friends. Very few Americans recognize her. She has a childhood friend who is married to an American who works at Yongsan, and that lady is the one who usually signs her on to the base.
11:22 am on July 16th, 2011 7
This is a great story. Personal interactions really make all the difference.
11:27 am on July 16th, 2011 8
While it is very difficult to remove racism from cultural attitudes and stereotypes, it usually starts by removing it from policies and institutions. Korea may still have some work to do there.
It is only last year that a law was passed to start removing institutional racism from Korea’s military.
11:37 am on July 16th, 2011 9
3 Well, frankly, if she were not half-black, she wouldn’t have that voice. The first time I heard her, I thought, “Wow. What a soulful voice!” I think genetics did have something to do with it….Not to say that non-blacks can’t have a soulful voice, but their aren’t too many white Patti Labelles and Aretha Franklins and Billy Holidays…
I haven’t checked out Korean music much, because it is so overwhelmingly sweet-n-low pop, but I did like Bulldog Mansion, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t mixed…
I really liked JuJu club and one of their videos is still one of my favorites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&v=o6JoQZ0kIKU
I like bands with people who actually play instruments…(Unless they have a fantastic, soulful voice like Insooni).
11:38 am on July 16th, 2011 10
(Yes, I’m getting old…)
11:48 am on July 16th, 2011 11
J writes..
“What’s more interesting is that she was willing to give up her career for her child. When she was pregnant, she went to Hawaii and waited to have the child. She told the newspapers that if the child looked black, she would stay in Hawaii permanently because she didn’t want the child to experience the same prejudices that she did when she was growing up.”
Links? Insooni is married to a native Korean.
Guitard writes…
“Good ol’ Tom… Once again accusing Americans of having racist attitudes.”
Look Guitard, in just about every thread here which has subjects of Korean entertainers, there have been nothing but snide comments about their talents, their fashion, and their looks, then topped off by sexist comments. It never fails, just look back at all the threads.
Why is it all of a sudden, she gets a pass in this thread and gets treated seriously, rather than be a subject of a joke? It looks very suspicious to me. I guess it’s because she’s half black American, don’t deny it, you hypocrite.
11:58 am on July 16th, 2011 12
USinKorea writes..
“3 Well, frankly, if she were not half-black, she wouldn’t have that voice.”
Listen to BMK, looks like a black woman, but she’s a pure Korean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkWZ95p7dnA
Before anyone tries to dismiss her and say she sucks, she’s engaged to an American airforce pilot who’s black. If that changes anything..
12:06 pm on July 16th, 2011 13
#9
The clubs on the U.S. military bases would usually try to higher local live music performers when they could get them.
I remember, in the 70s and 80s, when they hired Korean singers it didn’t work out. Not because they didn’t speak English. While they tried to emulate English language songs they usually ended up sounding very tinny. They couldn’t seem to create a lot of vocal range and depth when they sang. Maybe because the high and low vocal ranges weren’t required from Korean music of that era.
The base clubs ended up importing groups from the Philippines who were very good at singing in western music ranges.
12:16 pm on July 16th, 2011 14
Watch this, this is so funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqtgJ5TJi8M&eurl=
12:19 pm on July 16th, 2011 15
[...] Korean Music Star Insooni Reunites With Former USFK Servicemember. [...]
12:25 pm on July 16th, 2011 16
“While they tried to emulate English language songs they usually ended up sounding very tinny. ”
You gotta be kidding. Listen to all the great Korean singers today like Im Jae-Baum, Kim Bum-Soo, etc, they don’t sound ‘tinny’ at all..
They can sing just as good or even better than any American vocalists. Man.. you guys need to open your closed minds a little. 
12:53 pm on July 16th, 2011 17
Oh man, I really like the theme for donggam imjae baeom did in. 2000.
2:06 pm on July 16th, 2011 18
#17, he did a nice job in that OST song (너를 위해), and that song equates with his fame.
But that song isn’t the original. It was first done by Esther in 1997.
2:44 pm on July 16th, 2011 19
Big Mama King and the Enka guy are old news, if you read Marmot’s Hole.
2:57 pm on July 16th, 2011 20
Oh! They have this as an added bonus to the VHS of Donggam. She made an MV/PV for the movie also!
3:14 pm on July 16th, 2011 21
#16
Do you understand the meaning of past tense?
4:53 pm on July 16th, 2011 22
BMK and Lena Park (박정현) are two examples of full-blooded Koreans who can sing R&B with the best of them, Lena’s parents both coming from Korea although she was born and raised in the US.
I don’t think there’s anything racially or genetically connected to being able to sing with a powerful, soulful voice. There’s just a mental connection based on the performers who made the genre popular.
5:12 pm on July 16th, 2011 23
#22
That’s the point I was leading to. When Insooni was raised, there was no internet and no cable TV. What there was for music entertainment on TV was what was broadcast on any of the 3 national channels available. It was almost all very traditional Korean style music. The same went for radio. If you lived near a military base you could also pick up AFKN TV and radio broadcasts which had music programs that were popular with some Koreans.
It’s safe to say that since she grew up in the Dongducheon area and socialized with those Americans in the subject of this story she was exposed to a wider range of singing styles than most Koreans. She sings more soulfully and with a greater range than most of the singers I recall from then. I don’t recall any of them doing vibratos the way she does.
5:38 pm on July 16th, 2011 24
She performed at the EUSA Army birthday ball in 1996.
Absolutely awesome.
5:45 pm on July 16th, 2011 25
Lena Park (박정현) and Lee Sun Hee are my 2 favorite Korean singers. As a matter of fact, my wife and I finally had the pleasure of seeing Lee Sun Hee in concert a few weeks ago when she performed at the Culture & Arts Center up in Suwon. Talk about a powerful voice! My wife and I have both been fans since the late 80′s and we tried to get a picture or autograph; my wife even tried using the “foreigner card”, telling the staff that I was the only foreigner in the audience and that I have been a big Lee Sun Hee fan for over 20 years, could we get one pic or autograph but her efforts were in vain
10:01 pm on July 16th, 2011 26
11 – Because she’s not Britney Spears. (Think about that awhile, seriously…)
10:16 pm on July 16th, 2011 27
22 – I would think it is a mixture of nature and nurture. (The voice is in part a product of the body, and bodies vary in some degree among the people’s of the world.)
I’d have to listen to examples from each of the soulful singers mentioned to see what range we are using to define “soulful” and I don’t have time or the inclination for that. So, I’ll comment sight unseen…
Like I mentioned earlier, there have been soulful singers who were white or non-black in American culture, but it seems historically, they have come from the black community in a much higher proportion, and I think it is likely due to historic cultural reasons but also likely something with genetics as well. How much of which I don’t know.
(And this is not a putting down or promoting one race over another.)
10:38 pm on July 16th, 2011 28
I did check out of few videos of some of the names mentioned. Excellent voices, but I think we’d get hopelessly lost in a discussion of what “soulful” means before we could even progress to a nature-and-nurture discussion. I lean more toward nurture than nature, but I do believe nature does play some part. Trying to clarify these ideas in a group discussion (especially here these days) is impossible (and would likely turn ugly.)
I’ll just add a video for what I mean by soulful.
10:57 pm on July 16th, 2011 29
A note on the nature side, before people start calling me a racist: Facial features are different around the world. The face is made up of the same parts – nose, mouth, facial bones, chin, jaws, so on…
…But, obviously, everyone around the world do not look the same. In fact, similarities cluster together into broad but accepted categories – like East Asians or Asian. Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese are Asian but are noticably different in appearance to South East Asians – and all of them are different from Europeans…
How similar are vocal cords and other physical body elements associated with the voice between ethnic groups around the world? I have no idea. Are there subtle differences that could play a part in differences in sound between ethnic groups? Are differences in wholly cultural? Do body differences have some influence? I can’t say with any certainty.
But, I don’t think differences are 100% cultural.
12:24 am on July 17th, 2011 30
Black, and some white, GI’s knock up a local girl then flee. 72% of black babies are born to unwed mothers. This is why nobody in Korea respects black GI’s who abandon their children.
12:27 am on July 17th, 2011 31
Denny, Black, White, Hispanic, kyopo, other Asian, Martian… just about nobody in Korea respects any GI (or other person) who abandon their children.
5:54 am on July 17th, 2011 32
#29 go hang out with hmongs and other montagniards in the southern us. The second generation that was raised in black neighborhoods sound just like black people but are physiologically closer to koreans
4:24 pm on July 17th, 2011 33
#32 Sound like when they are singing?
I had to check her background yesterday, but I thought of Sade in relation to this discussion.
She is one of my all-time favorite singers. She has a fantastic, superior voice. But, I always felt it lacked a little something in the soulful area. Not that the voice was not as good as a Aretha Franklin, but it was somehow different. I always associated it with her being British — on culture. Yesterday, I got to thinking and checked, and yes, she is mixed race too: She was born in Nigeria and lived their until age 11 then in England.
12:06 am on July 18th, 2011 34
wow so many retarded comments. grow up people
4:59 am on July 18th, 2011 35
I don’t pay attention to Korean singers, but I do know Koreans can breakdance like no other nation… they’ve won 4 world championships in breakdancing since 1996.. check it out
http://bboychampionships.com/?page_id=495
5:00 am on July 18th, 2011 36
… and Jinjo’s one of the top crews going in to the 2011 competition.. hot damn!
6:47 am on July 19th, 2011 37
When I lived in South Korea and went out with Korean friends they always wanted to do karaoki…and they all had great voices.
Never heard a korean sing who didn’t sound awsome. Maybe it comes with practice, I’ll never know.