On the official Web site of Patti Kim last October KimGwang-min, a famous Korean D.J., left a note that read“it’s an exceptional phenomenon that singers like Kimcontinue to stage concerts at her age.”

At 69, Patti Kim is still one of the top vocalists of ourtime. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of her start inmusic, she held a concert over the weekend at the LG ArtsCenter called “The Old and New Patti Kim.” Before theconcert, the two Kims met in a hotel coffee shop to talkabout Patti Kim’s music.

Q.I remember very vividly you sang in ablack dress on a stage in early 1960. I’ve

watched you for more than 46 years, but I thinkyou have a particularly high standard comparedto other musicians. You are hard to approach.

A.Actually I get mistaken for being too arrogant. I dohave the image of being a proud woman, but some

of my oldest fans tell me that’s my charming side. Theyask me not to change.

I am tall and glamorous, which often makes othersthink that I am a big star, but I only wanted to become agreat musician. I couldn’t rely on anybody except myself.I didn’t have a management company. My family knewnothing about show business.

There was no one to ask for help, so I always stuck towhat I learned at home, which is to take pride in my musicand do it well. Even in interviews and on shows I raisedquestions if I felt something was wrong. That probablyhelped to shape my strong image.

It’s not easy to maintain the same musical stylefor 48 years. How do you do it?

I’ve been asked to sing trot or songs that are more pop-ular, but record sales and popularity have always been asecondary concern. I wanted to convey my own strong col-or in my music. I always look at the lyrics when I get asong. I have a hard time conveying the emotion if thelyrics are too popular or too easy. That’s why the lyrics inmy music have a literary tone.

When I was a D.J. in a music cafe during the ’70sthere was an outpouring of requests for yoursong “Farewell.” Can you pick your favorites,maybe five?

“September Song,” “Light and Shadow,” “Love ThatLeft Fall Behind,” “Love is the Flower of Life” and “LoveForever.” I don’t particularly like “Farewell,” but it’s asong that never gets missed in concerts. How can youdream of a Patti Kim concert without “Farewell?” “Sep-tember Song” is a song I liked from the time I first record-ed it. If I had to pick one song, that would be it.

There are a lot of rumors about your name, Pat-

ti. I only sang pop songs when I took the stage to perform

for the U.S. military. I decided to take an English name,because nobody would remember me if I introducedmyself as Kim Hye-ja. I thought of famous Hollywoodactresses like Eva Gardener, Audrey Hepburn and SusanHayward, but the name Patti Page really got to my heart.I met Page later when I was performing in Vancouver. Shewas very happy when I told her my story. We had our pic-ture taken together.

I heard that you like female singer-songwriterslike Bonnie Raitt.

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Céline Dion. I nev-er get bored of listening to Bonnie Raitt from the first trackto the last, but I tend to select a few songs I like fromCéline Dion. Even now the first thing I do when I wakeup in the morning is to listen to music. I also like GeorgeMichael, Chris Rea, Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisandand Frank Sinatra.

Do you have any suggestions to make toyounger Korean musicians for keeping up theirpassion?

I’ve personally contacted a few young musicians I sawon television whom I thought could grow bigger throughproper training. But they didn’t last long. Our thoughtswere too different. Korean celebrities today are too com-mercialized. It’s like a product with nice packaging, andthey repackage themselves once they get too stale in themarket. I want to tell them that the life of a musician getsshorter and shorter if you sing for money. Once you getrecognition with your talent, fame and money often fol-low. Don’t depend on management companies too much.You are the one who can take care of yourself the best. Isend flowers and visit concerts whenever I find youngsingers who stay faithful to their jobs.

It looks like you’ve fulfilled most of yourdreams as a musician.

It’s my hope and purpose for now to celebrate my 50thanniversary. I want to stay on top until then, and contin-ue staging concerts. Ten years ago, I doubted whether Icould make it. I worried that I would lack the energy andvoice to meet my goal.

But I’ve come this far. I feel very sure now that I willstage my 50th anniversary concert. After that, I will beable to leave the stage anytime I feel weak.

I am curious how you manage your personal lifeas a wife and mother.

Someone told me that Patti Kim never lets a singlestrand of her hair get tangled. It’s partly true. Even whenI stay at home alone I never let it all hang out. I alwaysopen the door only after I put on my lipstick when a laun-dry man comes to my house to pick up clothes. It’s partly

the influence of my mother, who always kept herself tidy.I still vividly remember her reading the newspaper withher finely-combed hair, pale lipstick and neat outfit. Iwant to provide the same example to my daughters. It’smy 31st anniversary with my husband, but he says hedoesn’t want to see me doing housework. He doesn’tmind eating fast food everyday, but prefers that I wearbeautiful clothes and make-up when he comes home fromwork. That’s partly why I am such a bad cook. I learnedhow to make miyeok-guk [seaweed soup] when I gave birth

to my eldest daughter Jeong-a.

Your concert is called “Closer to Your Friend.” Itfeels like you are getting closer to the public.

I’ve been performing in a lot of small cities in the lasttwo years. I think that the way to give back to my fansbefore I leave the stage is to show them how I sing. It’smy last obligation to show them that their love has notbeen wasted over the years by putting on good concerts.

myfeast@joongang.co.kr

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JoongAng Daily Tuesday, March 6, 2007

By Park Jeong-ho JoongAng Ilbo

At 69, Patti Kim sings the song of her life

Patti Kim, a pop diva from the Korean music scene, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her start in music. At 69, Kim,left, keeps herself in shape so that her current appearance rivals her early years, right. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Long-time presence on the Korean stagecelebrates 50 years in the music business