Singer Lee Mi-ja receives Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit

Singer Lee Mi-ja, who is known as the ‘queen of elegies,’ received the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit on Saturday. This is the first time a popular musician has received the highest Order of Cultural Merit level. Given that the singer debuted in 1959 with a song titled “Pure Love of a 19-Year-Old” and has been widely loved for 64 years, the award seems a bit belated. It is interpreted as the Korean traditional popular music that has been undervalued for a long time, now gets the recognition it deserves.

Lee’s 1964 song, “Camellia Girl,” had been ranked No. 1 for 35 weeks on a popular music program but was banned from being broadcast a year later because it sounded similar to Japanese enka.

However, it was only natural that enka and the Korean traditional popular music had a similar mood. It is well known that the godfather of enka Masao Koga, who grew up in Joseon and arranged “Arirang,” admitted that the Japanese music was heavily affected by South Korean melody. The two countries’ folk songs developed into something similar as they affected each other and were combined with Western music. Going back in history, Mimaji of Baekje spread instrumental music and dance to Japan with Baekje’s songs like “Jeongeupsa” shared with Japan. The ban on Lee’s song was the then-South Korean government’s media manipulation to show that the government was not taking a submissive attitude as opposed to the normalization of the diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan in 1965.

Regardless of the success or failure of K-pop, which highlights individuals’ freedom, traditional popular music will continue to be loved.

However, calling the genre traditional popular music seems ambiguous as it does not show the genre’s changes and development in contact with other countries’ music. On the other hand, trot, which originated from the foxtrot in the U.S., does not show that South Koreans have passed down the genre of music.

“I have pride in myself as a singer that continues the traditional popular music,” said Lee during a phone interview with the Dong-A Ilbo on Friday. “While trot has been popular lately, I believe the traditional popular music is different from trot with upbeat rhythms, the award-winner said, implying that she hopes the traditional popular music can be understood as a separate genre from trot of today. More active research into traditional popular music is needed; hopefully, it will be able to find the right name.