SunnySmartShopping in KOREA!: More than Just K-Pop - Part X

Part X – YB

This is the one I have been both looking forward to and dreading the most. This is my favorite Korean band and perhaps one of my top all time bands.

The last time I saw this band live, they followed up their opening number by telling the audience they would be opting to play what they wanted in place of exclusively playing crowd favorites. I will adhere to this.

Frontman Yoon Do Hyun began as a member of the singing group The Paper Kite and received instant attention for his power and presence. It’s easy to throw words around as many Korean artists get similar accolades, but I’ve seen it live and there is no better way to describe it. He truly has a grasp on the creativity that should be demanded of an artist. He has a love for all things Rock and shows it by his eclectic nature, which drives him to try everything at least once. All the while, he doesn’t really abandon his culture either, as shown above and below, incorporating Korean folk into his music.

This version of Arirang was historical as they once played it for an audience in Pyongyang. The audience was skeptical and did not expect this western propaganda group to play Korea’s most treasured song. Once they began to play, the audience wept.

He’s a genius. He’s an artist. He’s Judas Freakin’ Iscariott!

People wanted him for various pop groups and he turned them down to form a band that he could name after himself. Since then, Yoon Do Hyun Band, or YB, has had varying levels of success. They tend to go in and out of obscurity due to the nations obsession with K-pop, but everyone still knows him.

Perhaps the most important thing about YB is that they do what I’m doing now. They constantly try to promote other groups and show the nation that there are solid alternatives to K-pop.

In the 2002, he wrote Korea’s Top chant song, “Oh! Pilseung Korea!” and launched the band’s success. From then on, you couldn’t hate them in this country, even if you hated rock. He then began hosting a live stage event show called “Yoon Do Hyun’s Love Letter”, which he inherited from contemporary singer, Lee Sora. This stage gave him the chance for four years to show off people that didn’t get airtime, such as Drunken Tiger and the rest of the movement crew.

After several years of TV Hiatus came the show “I Am A Singer”. This was directed at the promotion of non-k-pop singers. It challenged these artists to write and perform new versions of old songs. YB faced a skeptical crowd again, then became one of the driving forces for the program, starting with their first performance.

Then this...

...became this:

Once his time there had ended he began a new program that was like “Love Letter”, but on a more intimate level. This program was titled MUST because he felt he had no choice but to give music to the people. Though it has featured some K-pop, he has always put them on the spot to do something original. He has also featured groups like Schizo and Jaurim.

Really, between this and “Love Letter”, he has promoted the hell out of everyone else on this list.

Now, as promised, here are some tracks you might never hear if you don’t know to look for them.

Stay Alive (Awesome Live):