Singer Lee Moon-sae, who is preparing for his 17th regular album, recently expressed his respect for his senior Cho Yong-pil, who released his 20th album.

On the 13th, he held a press conference for the pre-released songs of his 17th regular album at the Stanford Hotel Korea in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and personally introduced ‘Love Even in Breakup’ ‘My Blues’, which will be released at 6 PM that day.

On that day, Lee Moon-sae said, “As a singer who has prepared 17 albums, it has been over 40 years since I started singing on the mic. There were difficult times, and there were rivers and mountains to overcome, paradises, and twists and turns. However, I think I was able to hold the mic because I never missed an applause for over 40 years and never felt ignored.”

He continued, “Of course I hope the new song becomes a hit, but I never worried about whether it would be trendy or not. Lee Moon-sae always put out the music he wanted to make, and I would be grateful if many people could relate to it, but if not, there was nothing I could do about it.” He added, “I gained strength not only from albums but also from performances, and I think it was possible (to continue my activities) because I was active within the category of music at all times.”

He also said about Cho Yong-pil, who recently released his 20th full-length album, “Since my older brother is leading the way, I can follow him.” He emphasized, “However, I hope Yong-pil doesn‘t have a retirement concert. I respect his appearance on stage the most. Even if he can’t perform, I hope he doesn‘t leave the word ’last‘ behind. I think my older brother’s actions can be a kind of courage or comfort to his juniors who will quietly follow him.”

Meanwhile, the two songs Lee Moon-sae revealed on this day and the new song ‘Warm is better than hot’ from December of last year are scheduled to be included in his 17th album, which is currently being prepared for release next year.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com