Kim In-soon (; born April 5, 1957), known professionally as Insooni (), is a South Korean singer who made her debut in 1978 as a member of Hee Sisters (). Since then, she has recorded a total of 19 albums, 14 of them full-length albums. She is acclaimed as South Korea's R&B

diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

, having garnered a wide range of fans over her 45+ year career. She is one of the few South Korean singers to have performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and has earned several top prizes from South Korean music awards. She is distinguished by her rich, throaty voice with wide vocal range on stage. She was born to a South Korean mother and an African American father, who served in the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

in South Korea and was brought up by her mother alone, with the assistance of Pearl S. Buck International's child sponsorship program.

Early life and education

Insooni was born to a South Korean mother and an African American father in April 1957 in

Pocheon Pocheon (; ) is an landlocked, inland Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in northeast Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It covers 2 with a population of 160,176 people, according to the 2008 census. Pocheon lies between Seoul and the mou ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

and her upbringing was fraught with difficulties from discrimination against foreigners, which was severe during this time in South Korea. Insooni has commented that "while attending school I felt like I was dirty compared to my classmates." In-Soon graduated from Cheongsan Middle School of Yeoncheon,

and having had enough of the difficulties did not continue her education through high school. She has said that overcoming the difficulties came by singing.

Career

In 1978, Insooni made her debut with the girl group Hee Sisters but South Korean public opinion doubted that a girl group could be successful in South Korea. The Hee sisters' time allowed Insooni to show off her skills such as eloquent dance but the interest she attracted was merely that of outward appearance. In 1980, ''Fate'' (인연), Insooni's solo release debuted. 1983, with the age of disco setting in, ''If it's night, every night'' (밤이면 밤마다), saw her release a hit that rose and remained at number 7 on KBS charts through 1984, she rose immensely in popularity. She has also released a live album of

Contemporary Christian Music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

, which was launched on August 11, 2006. It included Korean versions of the classic Christian songs "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

" and "

How Great Thou Art "How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn entitled "" written in 1885 by Carl Boberg (1859–1940). The English version of the hymn and its title are a loose translation by the English missionary Stuart K. Hine f ...

" (주 하나님 지으신 모든 세계), and other songs such as "Jesus" (찬양해) and "Through Christ". In 2007, she got special attention for her performance of the song "A Goose's Dream".

Personal life

Insooni has one daughter, Saein Park, also known as Jasmine, born 1994, who attended

Seoul International School Seoul International School (SIS) is a secular international private college preparatory school situated in Seongnam, South Korea,Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Her father is Park Kyung-bae. She is three-quarters Korean and quarter African-American. Insooni is a Catholic. Her baptismal name is Cecilia. On April 29, 2023, Insooni was appointed by Prime Minister

Han Duck-soo Han Duck-soo (; born 18June 1949) is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as the acting president of South Korea in December 2024 and from March to May 2025 and as the prime minister of South Korea from 2007 to 2008 an ...

to the new Multicultural Youth Families Support Council in an effort to create 230 family centers and 527 Korean classes for school-age children, and strengthen career guidance such as career consulting, college student mentoring, and vocational training services for multicultural and mixed-race middle and high school students.

Discography

* ''Destiny (인연)'' (1980) * ''The Person Who Has To Leave (떠나야할 그 사람)'' (1981) * ''Only Sadness Remains (슬픔만 남아 있어요)'' (1982) * ''At Night, Every Night-Desire (밤이면 밤마다／욕망)'' (1983) * ''Beautiful Korea (아름다운 우리나라/여기가 어디냐)'' (1984) * ''Letter Of Tears (눈물의편지)'' (1985) * ''As Ever, The Distance (그 어느 거리로)'' (1988) * ''Turning Point'' (1989) * ''Woman (女子)'' (1991) * ''Hits of Insooni Vol.1'' (1992) * ''The Queen Of Soul'' (1996) * ''From Deep Within My Soul (가스펠 1)'' (1997) * ''My Turn'' (2001) * ''A To Z'' (2004) * ''Remix Party with DJ Oga'' (2006) * ''Goose’s Dream/ Dreaming for Everyone'' (2007) * ''Anthology 97-08'' (2008) * ''Insooni'' (2009) * ''Uppercut'' (2011) * ''Legend (30th Anniversary Concert, 2 Discs)'' (2011) * ''Umbrella'' (2013) * ''Pinocchio (피노키오)'' (2015)

Filmography

Television shows

References

External links

*
Yonhap News: Mixed-race Korean singer inspired by U.S. football star Hines Ward
{{Authority control 1957 births Living people South Korean Roman Catholics South Korean people of African-American descent South Korean rhythm and blues singers 20th-century South Korean women singers 21st-century South Korean women singers