DJ Bae Cheol-soo, who is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the program, expressed his intention to continue his activities in the future.
On the 25th, a press conference for the 35th anniversary of MBC Radio’s ‘Bae Cheol-soo’s Music Camp’ was held at the new MBC building in Sangam, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Bae Cheol-soo, PD Nam Tae-jung, and writer Bae Soon-tak were present at the event.
‘Bae Cheol-soo’s Music Camp’ (hereafter referred to as ‘Bae Camp’) started broadcasting on March 19, 1990, and has been meeting listeners for 35 years. Including its predecessor, ‘Youth Music Camp’, Bae Cheol-soo has been hosting radio programs at MBC for 38 years.
Bae Cheol-soo stated, “It’s true that I’ve been doing this for a long time. Whether it’s too long is not for me to judge,” and added, “I think it’s the longest-running single program in Korea. I’m entering my 36th year now. I honestly don’t know how long I will continue.”
He continued, “March 19 is the birthday of ‘Bae Camp’. The PDs came to the studio to celebrate, and I mentioned then that if I am needed, if listeners think ‘you are still useful’, I will continue as long as my health permits.”
Bae Cheol-soo also said, “I don’t know when it will end. It’s up to the listeners to decide. As long as my health allows, I will continue day by day. I used to think that after 10 or 20 years, I would stop broadcasting and try something else, but now that I’m over 70, isn’t it too late to do something else? I’m thinking of just doing what I’ve been doing diligently every day.”
PD Nam Tae-jung added, “I think he will stay at MBC longer than I will,” which brought laughter.
PD Nam also mentioned, “35 years. Many PDs have directed ‘Bae Camp’. There are seniors who have retired. I was lucky to be a PD twice and now I’m the overall PD. Personally, I was a fan of ‘Bae Camp’ as a high school student. I studied hard with the thought of wanting to meet him, and luckily ended up at MBC and became a PD. I learned musical knowledge through my seniors, and they taught me life lessons. He is a role model,” expressing deep affection for the program and Bae Cheol-soo.
For the 30th anniversary, they conducted a special live broadcast with the BBC. Is there anything prepared for the 35th anniversary? PD Nam said, “We have prepared three things for this 35th anniversary,” and added, “Around the birthday of ‘Bae Camp’, we provided non-commercial radios and LPs to the listeners.”
He continued, “DJ Bae Cheol-soo will take a vacation for the 35th anniversary. To fill that spot, some delightful guests will help. The title hasn’t been decided yet, but it feels like ‘Bae Cheol-soo and Friends’. We have gathered musicians from past DJs. Okdal, Yoon Do-hyun, Yiruma, and Yoo Hee-yeol will help out. They will fill in for about two weeks.”
The finale will be an overseas broadcast. PD Nam said, “Like five years ago when we went to the BBC, we will produce a broadcast from a symbolic music venue overseas. The Lollapalooza Chicago concert will take place from July 31 for four days, featuring five K-pop artists. We are also in the process of inviting headlining artists,” expressing anticipation.
Looking back, Bae Cheol-soo expressed gratitude for being able to continue this program on MBC Radio. “Now that I’ve surpassed 35 years, junior DJs say they want to do it like me, but when I first started broadcasting, I was a strange disc jockey,” he said. He continued, “I spoke carelessly and used vulgar language. At that time, I tried to speak as softly as possible and whispered during broadcasts. I only played hit songs. When I first started, my voice was rough, and I played a lot of rock music and long songs, so I was a strange DJ. MBC Radio accepted me. Being able to come this far... I’m not saying this because I work at MBC, but MBC Radio is excellent. I think that excellence is due to good PDs like the directors and CPs.”
For Bae Cheol-soo, the moment he is hosting ‘Music Camp’ is still the happiest moment. He said, “The time I spend broadcasting is the happiest time of the day,” and shared, “I enter the studio at 4 PM. For two hours until the live broadcast at 6 PM, I check the script, look at listener requests, and listen to songs I don’t remember. Those moments are happy. When it hits 6 PM, my tension suddenly rises. After two hours of broadcasting, I go home saying, ‘Ah, I’m tired.’”
He added, “The broadcast time is precious to the listeners, but it is truly precious to me. It’s happiness. How happy it is to make a living doing what I love. I’m always grateful. I had a hard time in my early years, so I think I’m living a happy life in my old age. Looking at life, it seems to be quite fair.”
His affection for the listeners is also remarkable. Bae Cheol-soo said, “Some listen casually, but some listen seriously. Some friends say, ‘My life changed because I listened to ‘Bae Camp’. I work in the cultural field because of ‘Bae Camp’.” When I interview filmmakers or people in the cultural field, they all have moments when they listened to ‘Bae Camp’ diligently during their school days or at some point. If these people listened to my program and received a good influence, then I think it’s worthwhile that I have been broadcasting until now,” he added, “I think that broadcasting for 35 years has contributed even a small stone to the development of Korean culture, and I feel proud of that.”
Is there a belief that Bae Cheol-soo has maintained during his 35 years of broadcasting? He said it is ‘not telling lies’. Bae Cheol-soo explained, “When you do a live broadcast for two hours every day, you forget what you talked about on the broadcast. When juniors ask me how to do a broadcast, I tell them, ‘Don’t lie.’ Because you won’t remember. If you tell a lie once, you will definitely say something else, and then you will lose trust. At that moment, the program is over.”
Finally, Bae Cheol-soo said, “Last year, I was unwell and couldn’t broadcast for a week for the first time. It was the first time. While lying in the hospital for five days, I had so much time to think. What I seriously thought at that time was, ‘Ah, I’m not that young anymore. I’m getting old too.’ It’s too late to think this over 70, but people can’t always be healthy, and no matter how healthy you are, you cannot be free from the flow of physical time. I thought, ‘My body may be aging and weakening, but my mind must not grow old.’ I want to keep the thoughts I had when I was young. My debut song is ‘I Lived Without Knowing the World’. I thought I would go all the way without knowing the world.”
He concluded, “(When to stop) is not for me to decide. It will be decided by the listeners, MBC Radio, and my body. As long as my body allows, and as long as the listeners accept me, I will continue to do it joyfully every day.”
‘Bae Cheol-soo’s Music Camp’ airs every day at 6 PM on MBC FM4U.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
