Singer Song Chang-sik generously shared past episodes.
The first guest of the first episode of MBN's entertainment program ‘Let’s Go’ Season 5, which aired on the 5th, was the legendary singer Song Chang-sik.
Song Chang-sik captivated viewers with a variety of stories, including how he started wearing his trademark hanbok, the story of proposing to his wife just 15 days after they met, the surprising secret behind the hit song ‘Love’, which was born in Seodaemun Prison, and a home live performance.
MCs Ahn Jung-hwan and Hong Hyun-hee, who continued from the previous season into Season 5, visited the studio of Song Chang-sik, the protagonist of numerous hit songs such as ‘Whale Hunting’, ‘The Cigarette Shop Girl’, and ‘Why Call’.
The MCs were surprised to see luxury shoes from brand B, which G-Dragon also enjoys wearing, in the shoe rack at the studio entrance. Hong Hyun-hee asked if he bought them himself, and Song Chang-sik shyly replied that he received them as a gift. While looking at the closet full of hanboks, they asked about how he started wearing his trademark hanbok.
Song Chang-sik explained, “In 1975, there was an amateur competition in Hong Kong, and I went as the representative of Korea. It was my first time in Hong Kong, so I bought an expensive suit, but when I stood in front of the mirror in the dance practice room, I realized that while my clothes were the best, I looked the most shabby. I was embarrassed because I’m a singer too.”
He continued, “The next day, I wore a traditional hanbok, and I thought I looked the best. So I thought, ‘Suits are not the right clothes for us,’ and I started wearing hanbok from then on. Traditional hanbok was uncomfortable, so I began to make modified hanbok myself.”
The MCs looked at family photos and asked, “How did you meet your wife? Do you have one child?” Song Chang-sik began, “My wife is a high school classmate,” and then shared, “After graduation, I didn’t see her until I met her twin sister in the U.S. At that time, I asked, ‘What is your sister doing?’ and she said she was running an antique shop. So I went to visit her.”
He continued, “One day, my wife said, ‘I need a partner for the year-end party, can you help me find one?’ but I couldn’t. So I apologized, and she said seriously, ‘You can’t go to that party without a partner, so you should come with me.’ We went together, and there they told us to kiss, and my wife said to me, ‘Kiss me.’”
Song Chang-sik also revealed, “I proposed to her just 15 days after we started dating,” adding, “I was actually averse to marriage. I couldn’t imagine entrusting my life to someone. But I forgot about that when I met her. So even now, I jokingly ask my wife, ‘Are you a witch?’” confessing about the love that made him forget his beliefs.
Additionally, Song Chang-sik shared the behind-the-scenes story of adopting two children. He said, “The first child is our biological child, and the second and third are adopted.” He explained, “My wife’s twin sister in the U.S. wanted to adopt a Korean child, and before going, she came to our house to get used to the mother’s face. But suddenly, the law changed, and they couldn’t go abroad for adoption. So we said, ‘Since we brought them, let’s raise them ourselves.’”
He continued, “Later, my sister-in-law had a child through artificial insemination but couldn’t raise it. At that time, we were traveling in the U.S. and met the child, who wouldn’t let go of my wife. So we brought the child back to Korea.” The MCs commented, “You mentioned it simply, but it’s not an easy thing (that’s amazing),” and Song Chang-sik laughed heartily, saying, “Thanks to my sister-in-law, I got married and had two more children.”
Song Chang-sik also recounted an episode where he got a nosebleed after being hit by Jo Young-nam while he was active in the group C'est Si Bon. The MCs asked about the incident that Jo Young-nam mentioned as his first experience of violence when he appeared as a guest last season, and Song Chang-sik said, “I don’t remember exactly, but at that time, I had a habit of lying whenever I opened my mouth, so I was nicknamed ‘Song Gura’. One day, when the topic of home came up, I habitually said, ‘We are very rich. We eat rice mixed with chocolate,’ and then a hand flew at me.”
He continued, “He hit me hard, and I got a nosebleed. That incident cured my habit of lying,” confessing a bittersweet past that made everyone laugh.
After touring the studio, Song Chang-sik performed a home live session with Ham Chun-ho, a member of the group ‘Poet and Farmer’ and his 30-year friend. Song Chang-sik treated the audience to a live performance of various songs, including the beloved hit ‘The Piper’, the sweet-sounding ‘Night Snow’, and songs like ‘Whale Hunting’, ‘Why Call’, ‘The Cigarette Shop Girl’, and ‘Love’, providing a delightful experience.
Song Chang-sik revealed, “Originally, ‘The Cigarette Shop Girl’ was ‘The Shirt Shop Girl’. But it was too funny to make a song out of, so I changed it to ‘The Cigarette Shop Girl’.” He also shared, “’Love’ is a song I wrote while I was in Seodaemun Prison. I was there for about 20 days for violating the local reserve forces law, and I wrote this song during that time.” He added, “In fact, ‘Love’ is not about love but about meditation. I sang the lyrics to my wife who came to visit me and asked her to organize them, and that’s how the song was created,” surprising everyone.
In particular, Song Chang-sik told the MCs, “Originally, such a simple story (meditation) leads to such a complex story (love),” and the MCs humorously reacted, “I thought your MBTI was F (feeling type), but are you T (thinking type)?”
Meanwhile, MBN’s ‘Let’s Go’ Season 5 is a nationwide housewarming tour program where Ahn Jung-hwan and Hong Hyun-hee visit special and meaningful places, such as a friend’s house or a workplace that best represents the person, sharing life stories. It airs every Saturday at 8:20 PM.
