Shin Jung-hyun
| Shin Jung-hyeon | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Jackie Shin |
| Born |
January 4, 1938 , Seoul, Korea |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock, folk rock, pop, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter, singer, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Labels | Jigu Records |
| Associated acts | Add4, Pearl Sisters, Kim Chu-ja, Shin Joong Hyun & The Men, Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns |
| Shin Jung-hyeon | |
| Hangul | 신중현 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 申重鉉 |
| Revised Romanization | Sin Jung-hyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sin Chunghyŏn |
Shin Jung-hyeon (also spelled Shin Joong-hyun; Hangul: 신중현; born January 4, 1938) is a South Korean rock guitarist and singer-songwriter often referred to as Korea's "Godfather of Rock." A pioneer of Korean rock music, Shin is known for forming South Korea's first rock band, Add4, in 1962 and for being at the forefront of the country's psychedelic rock scene of the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote his most famous song, "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains," in protest of the military dictatorship of Park Chung-hee in 1972. Shin was later imprisoned and tortured by Park's regime, and his music was banned until the 1980s. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1990s and has since received numerous accolades recognizing his contributions to South Korean popular music.
Shin Jung-hyeon was born in Seoul in 1938, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. His mother died when he was a child, and his father later married a Japanese woman. Shin spent his youth with his father and step-mother living in Manchuria and Japan. After they returned to what had become South Korea, Shin's father died in 1952, and his stepmother died the following year. After her death, Shin moved to Seoul, where he worked in a pharmaceutical factory and attended night school. During this time, he taught himself to play guitar after a failed attempt at learning to play the violin.
In 1957, when he was 19 years old, Shin made his debut at a U.S. military base in South Korea, one of the few places where South Korean musicians could find regular work at the time. Shin had been inspired by the American rock, jazz and, later, psychedelic rock he heard on the American Forces Korea Network radio station. Using the stage name Jackie Shin, he gained immense popularity performing on bases, and was performing up to 40 shows per month at one point. Shin later said that the U.S. military bases were where Korean rock was born.
Shin released his first album, Hiki Shin Guitar Melody, in 1958. The album included original songs in a variety of styles, covers of traditional Korean music, and covers of the hit American instrumental songs "Honky Tonk" and "Green Onions." Today, the album is highly valued by record collectors, and a copy of the original vinyl record was worth an estimated 10 million KRW in 2016.
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