Yang Joon-il speaks at a media event on December 31 at a Sejong University hall in Seoul. [Photo by Yoo Dae-gil, dbeorlf123@ajunews.com]
"I'm shocked that so many people have come to see me," Yang Joon-il told a media event on Tuesday at a Sejong University hall in Seoul before participating in a fan meeting for the first time in his life. Hundreds of fans braved a freezing cold to enthusiastically greet the 50-year-old who put an end to his life as a server at a restaurant in Florida to make his fresh debut in South Korea.
Yang was not familiar with such a scene. "I don't think I dare figure out why I'm gaining popularity," he said, promising to release a new song after showing his old music sufficiently back on stage. "I'm going to reorder and record my past album and release it as a real album."
Emigrated to the U.S. at the age of nine with his family, Yang grew up in Los Angles and entered the University of Southern California to study business. He released his debut song, "Rebecca", in South Korea in 1991 and other songs like "Dance with Me Miss" (1992), "GaNaDaRaMaBaSa" (1992).
At the time, he was recognized as the first pop musician to introduce the new jack swing genre, which was popular in the mid-1980s and early 1990s in the U.S. However, he suddenly went back to the U.S. In 2001, he came back to debut as V2, hiding his true identity. His new song "Fantasy" earned brief popularity, but he left the stage again.
"When I left for the U.S., I thought I would never return to South Korea again," Yang said. "Now I realize that fans want to have it when they see old albums traded at high prices in used markets."
With retro styles in trend, Yang started gaining his online popularity two years ago. Past performance videos showing his soulful freestyle dance fascinated young YouTube users. His popularity surged after he appeared on Sugarman, a cable TV music program searching for old-time stars, on December 6.
In the early 1990s, South Korean fans were uncomfortable with Yang's music and fashion style as well as his gender-neutral beauty. He revealed a shocking story after his performance on Sugerman, saying he was hated for his looks and songs, and some threw rocks during his performance.
When he tried to renew a 10-year visa, an immigration official said he would never allow someone like Yang to stay in South Korea, forcing him to cancel a scheduled concert in Busan and return to the U.S.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
