Folk musicians Jeong Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok, who sing about the times and humanity, are celebrating their 45th anniversary with a literary project.
On the afternoon of the 25th, a press conference for the 2025 Jeong Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok Literary Project ‘Song, Break the Wall’ was held at the Roh Moo-hyun Citizen Center in Wanseo-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Jeong Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok debuted in 1978 and 1979 respectively with ‘The Poet's Village’ and ‘Recollection’. After marrying in 1980, they have worked together as musical partners and life companions. Celebrating their 45th anniversary, Jeong Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok will release their 12th regular album ‘Between Heavy Rains’ containing a total of 10 songs in April.
When asked about the reason for the title ‘Song, Break the Wall’ for this project, Jeong Tae-chun explained, “In the past, I wrote a piece called ‘Break the Wall’ while writing with a brush, and I added ‘song’ to it. I hope this text can be conveyed to people even in a fleeting way. I wanted to title it this way because I hope people think about the power of intellect and morality that breaks through the walls of barbarism even in today’s situation.”
He also shared the reason for deciding to release a new album after 13 years.
Jeong Tae-chun said, “From 2019 to 2021, I conducted a 40th anniversary project and held concerts in 25 regions. At that time, there were exhibitions, books, and albums, and we even made a movie based on the results and screened it in theaters. I thought I had to finish everything there, so I said I wouldn’t release an album.”
He continued, “While picking up my granddaughter, I found a Bob Dylan lyric book in the library. It was a lyric book containing all of Bob Dylan's songs, over 1000 pages long. After reading it all and looking at novels and biographies related to Bob Dylan, I thought, ‘I didn’t really know this person.’ Those things inspired me, and I wanted to create really good songs. That’s how songs came out from within me, and I wanted to share them.”
Park Eun-ok expressed that he is happy to still be singing after 45 years. He said, “I feel happy to be a singer as I grow older. So I think if I were to be reborn, I would want to be a musician again,” adding, “However, I hope that I would be born with the talent to create like Jeong Tae-chun. Until now, I have been happy on stage and have lived as a lucky singer.”
Starting in May, Jeong Tae-chun and Park Eun-ok will meet audiences through their nationwide concert ‘My Poem, My Song’. This performance is expected to showcase their songs, poetry recitations, brush calligraphy photos, and texts, providing a glimpse into their literary and artistic essence.
Additionally, in May, Jeong Tae-chun will publish a song poetry collection titled ‘Between Heavy Rains’, and in June, a collection of brush writings titled ‘Song, Song’ will be released. Furthermore, from June 4 to 15, an exhibition titled ‘Song, Song’ will be held, featuring Jeong Tae-chun's brush works and short essays.
Park Eun-ok mentioned that he likes the author of ‘Pocksak Sogassuda’. He reflected, “While looking at the works this time, I thought, ‘Drama can convey emotions from the 20s to the 60s, but why is it difficult for songs to do that?’ It seems that songs heard in late teens to 20s last a lifetime, and after that, life gets busy, making it hard to dedicate time to music.”
He added, “I hope music can also touch the hearts of people of various ages from their 20s to 60s, like dramas. I think it would be difficult for people in their 20s to resonate with this song right now. However, since there are a very small number of high school and college students in our fan club, I hope this song can be a source of strength and encouragement for them.”
In response, Jeong Tae-chun said, “This is the result of several years of work. While the song was the starting point, I ended up compiling the poems I had written, and we are also holding a brush exhibition and concert. This is a place to unveil the results of what we have been working on for several years. I hope many people will open their hearts and listen to our new songs.”
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
