During her 2 years and 6 months as MC of the Korean BBS radio's representative entertainment program "Kim Soyou's 108 Songs," she helped to spread awareness of BBS as an entertainment program rather than a Buddhist broadcasting program.
We spoke to Kim Soyou, a trot singer who is preparing to start her career in earnest from this year. Q. Please introduce yourself. You majored in pansori, a traditional Korean music, at Chung-Ang University and have been studying Korean traditional music since 10 years ago.
She then changed her focus to trot and participated in the program "Miss Trot Season 2" (hereafter "Miss Trot"), where she began her career as a trot singer.
In 2015, I released a song called "The Equation of Love" by composer Park Sung Hoon, but unfortunately it didn't attract much attention. I didn't have a management office, and I didn't have any connections with broadcasting stations.
At that time, trot was not popular and there were no events or performances, so it was difficult. In 2015, I was active under the name Na Yujin, but in 2018, I changed my name to Kim Soyou.
I changed my name and started again with the song "Cho Saeng Dal". Fortunately, I made it to the semi-finals with "Miss Trot" and made the name Kim Soyou known to the public. Q.
You became well known to the public after winning Miss Trot in 2019, but unfortunately you didn't win. How did you feel at that time?
What song did you like the most? To be honest, I didn't think about how high I could go while I was on the show, and trot was actually an unpopular genre at the time, so I didn't think about the show.
I didn't think it would work out. Since there weren't many performances for trot singers, I just wanted to get some exposure on TV, but I ended up in the semi-finals.
He was selected to go to the finals, and he also sang a duet with SONG GAIN, who had been gaining attention for a while, singing "Honto desuka" (Is that really true?), but unfortunately he was eliminated in the semi-finals.
I sang Kim YOUNG JI's song "Within 10 Minutes" and it got the highest audience score at the venue. It was my first time to get first place, so
That performance remains in my memory. Q. After that, you released your own songs, but which one is the one you're most attached to?
As for "Two Women," this was the song I least wanted to do. The composer wrote it with a male singer in mind.
I thought that the lyrics and the song were the best fit for me, but my teacher said to me, "Trust my feelings. Your voice is good because you majored in Korean traditional music, so I think a song that expresses it in this way would be good."
So I believed in my teacher's words and started singing. Q. When you were in "Miss Trot," you were called "the daughter of a rice cake shop" and you went to a shopping mall, but now your mother is a rice cake shop owner.
Your nickname changed when you changed your store, but what nickname did you like? In the 2024 KBS TV show "Human Theater," you were also nicknamed "filial daughter"...
At first I didn't like it. To be honest, I didn't like it at first because I'm a female singer, but the trot genre tends to be popular with older people. Do you feel a certain affinity with it?
So I'm happy. I feel a little embarrassed to say the nickname "filial daughter" myself. I feel like I can't introduce myself as "Kim Soyou, the filial singer" with my own mouth.
I was a little embarrassed... But that video recorded the highest viewing rate for "Human Theatre," and many elderly people watched it, and when I was singing at an event, they came up to me and cried.
He held my hand. I think that image was a little strong, so I'm not sure what to do. Q. How many years have you been the MC for BBS Radio's "Kim Soyou's 108 Songs"?
Now that it's over, how does it feel? What has been the most memorable thing for you out of all the guests you've met and the messages you've received?
I did it for two years and six months, but when I first got an offer to be a DJ,
I didn't have much confidence in myself, so I turned it down. I turned it down two or three times, but they kept inviting me, so I decided to continue. But at first, I didn't have much confidence, because I was worried about the live broadcast.
It was difficult because I had to communicate with the nurses, but when it was over I was glad that I did it well.
Among them, the most memorable guests were Nam Jin and SONG GAIN. SONG GAIN is also
As I was a former member of the audition program, SONG GAIN contacted me and asked me to appear on the show. I remember that even though we weren't close, Nam Jin teacher treated me very casually.
And, actually, my fans seemed a little happy because my laugh was not feminine and I was friendly. So, they always sent local specialties and souvenirs to the station, and I was very happy.
I shared it with him and ate it, but he sent it so frequently that even the people at the broadcasting station were surprised. Q.
You appeared on "Active Singer King" in 2023, but you haven't appeared on it for a while. Was there a reason for that?
It's not that I didn't appear, I just "failed." At that time, there was no management office to look after me, and my father was also sick and not feeling well. However, I was desperate.
When I got the offer, I didn't think about anything else and just wanted to try it because it was a program that only active performers would be doing, but I didn't get the offer. I didn't have the mental space to continue preparing songs.
Q. You often meet with your fans on YouTube live, but is there a fan who stands out in your memory?
I haven't been able to do that much recently. I used to be able to interact with people, but since appearing on "Ningen Gekijo" I haven't been able to do it live.
As I progressed, I started to think a little more about the possibility of making a mistake with my words. So now I think I should be a little more careful, and if I make a mistake again,
If I have the opportunity, I would like to do it anytime. The memorable fans are the ones who always come and support me, but if you just look at their ID, you can't tell what kind of people they are.
In the early days, they also set up broadcasting equipment. It seems like there are more people from Gyeongsang Province. Q. When are you planning to release your new song this year?
I'm currently collecting some songs, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to do so, but I'm thinking about it more carefully. Q. Do you have any plans to enter the Japanese market?
If so, could you tell me when you are aiming to do so? I love Japanese enka and listen to it a lot. If I have the opportunity, I would like to make an advance into it.
So, if there is a good media, I would like to study it and go to Japan and perform there once, but when I looked into it, there weren't many.
I have listened to a lot of songs by Katsura Eun-sook and Misora Hibari, and I am interested in them. I want to see their performances, but I haven't been able to see them. I wonder what the current generation of Japanese people is doing.
I'm curious to know what it's like.
