Final farewell to iconic singer and theater founder Kim Min-gi

“After a long night without sleep, / Morning dew on every leaf, / Brighter than a pearl so deep, / Sadness in my mind does creep...”

In front of the Hakchon Theater, Korea’s iconic small theater in Daehangno, Jongno-gu in central Seoul, on Wednesday morning, a funeral car with the late singer Kim Min-gi, Hakchon’s founder, and his bereaved family, was about to head to the burial site. Then, someone started to sing “Morning Dew.” A few dozen funeral guests, lined up in double and triple rows, sang along aloud, sobbing. The subsiding raindrops suddenly became harder and bigger. Someone shouted out loud, “I love you, Mr. Kim!”

Kim’s last day was not lonely. In front of the late Kim Gwang-seok’s song tombstone near Hakchon, people left soju, makgeolli, and chrysanthemums. Bereaved family members carried the portrait of the deceased to bid farewell to the theater. Actor Sol Kyung-gu and Jang Hyun-sung, who had performed at Hakchon, tried to hold back tears but could not keep from crying. Actresses Oh Ji-hye and Bang Eun-jin wept aloud.

Even after the funeral car left, mourners lingered for a long time. Saxophonist Lee In-kwon played the deceased’s song “Beautiful Person” in the drizzling rain. The sounds of crying spread like ocean waves. “The burial is going to be private, so we have to disperse here. Thank you all,” Jang Hyun-seong said with difficulty, and people slowly left the place.

Kim Min-gi, whose song “Morning Dew” inspired many young people during the 1970s when the military government was in power, and who created iconic musicals at the Hakchon Theater, returned to dust. He had been suffering from stomach cancer and died on July 21 at the age of 73.


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