Shin Joong-hyun (, or ; born January 4, 1938), also transliterated as Shin Jung-hyeon or Sin Junghyeon, is a South Korean rock guitarist and singer-songwriter often referred to as Korea's "Godfather of Rock." A pioneer of

Korean rock Korean rock () is rock music from South Korea. It has roots in American rock, which was imported to South Korea by U.S. soldiers fighting in the Korean War and stationing in U.S. military bases in South Korea after the war. Around the U.S. militar ...

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 Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

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 Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

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.

Early life

Shin Joong-hyun was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

in 1938, during the

Japanese occupation of Korea From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

. 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 Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

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

, 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.

Career

Beginnings

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 Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and, later,

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

was born.

Solo album and first South Korean rock band

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 A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

" and "

Green Onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. One of the most popular soul songs ever, and R&B instrumentals of its era, it utilizes a twelve-bar blues progression and features a rippling Hammond M3 ...

." Today, the album is highly valued by record collectors, and a copy of the original

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

was worth an estimated 10 million KRW in 2016. In 1964, Shin's rock band Add4 released its first album, ''The Woman in the Rain''. Add4 is considered to be South Korea's first rock band.

Mainstream success and psychedelic soul

However, Shin did not achieve mainstream success in South Korea until 1968, when he produced the album ''My Dear'' for the singing duo The Pearl Sisters. The album, which included the hit songs "My Dear" and "A Cup of Coffee," was a huge success and went on to sell more than 1 million copies. For the next several years, Shin wrote songs and produced hit records for young musicians including Kim Chu-ja, with whom he made the album ''Before It's Too Late''. Many of these recordings featured Shin's trademark

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a form of soul music which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s. The style saw African-American soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, ...

sound.

"Beautiful Rivers and Mountains" and arrest

In 1972, the office of South Korean president

asked Shin to write a song in praise of the president. Shin refused and instead wrote a 10-minute long song about the beauty of South Korea, called "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains," which he recorded with his band at the time, Shin Joong Hyun & The Men. After the release of the song, police confiscated Shin's guitars and cut his long hair, which was banned at the time by the South Korean government. However, in 1974, his new band, Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns released their self-titled first album, which sold over 1 million copies and included the hit song, "Beautiful Woman." In 1975, Shin was arrested for possession of

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

after giving away a plant to a friend of the president's son, even though marijuana was not yet illegal at the time of his arrest. He was subsequently imprisoned and tortured. He was later imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital. After his release, Shin was banned from performing in South Korea, until after the

assassination of Park Chung Hee On October 26, 1979, Park Chung Hee, the third president of South Korea, was assassinated during a dinner at the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) safe house near the Blue House presidential compound in Jongno District, Seoul, South ...

in 1979. Regarding the assassination, Shin said, "God took Park and opted to save me." However, in the meantime, the public's taste in music had changed, according to Shin. "It was all, 'Let's work hard,' and 'Let's be happy' kind of stuff. It was completely physical, with no spirit, no mentality, no humanity," he later said. Because he could not perform, he turned to producing and song-writing, among other occupations.

Later career and retirement

During the 1980s, Shin ran a music club in

Itaewon Itaewon (; ) is a commercial district in Seoul, South Korea, known for its nightlife and multi-ethnic population. Etymology The name Itaewon was originally derived from the name of an inn located there during the Joseon period. Today it's calle ...

, a Seoul neighborhood popular with foreign visitors and U.S. military personnel. He opened Woodstock, another music club, in southeast Seoul in 1986 and ran it and taught there for the next two decades. In the 1990s, Shin's music experienced a renaissance of popularity in South Korea. Cho Kwon Woo, Shin Hyo Bom and Bom Yarom Kaul Kyou recorded new versions of his songs, as did his son,

Shin Daechul Shin Daechul () is a South Korean musician and songwriter. He is best known as leader and guitarist of Sinawe, who are considered one of the first heavy metal bands in South Korea. He is the son of Shin Jung-hyeon, who is often called "the Go ...

. Shin announced his retirement in 2006. His "farewell" concert aired over the course of 10 nights in December of that year on South Korean television station EBS. However, Shin returned to the stage in 2008 for his first concert in the United States at the Korean Music Festival at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

. In 2010, he became the first Asian musician and the sixth in the world to be the recipient of a Fender Custom Shop Tribute Series guitar, joining

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, on 30 June 1963) is a Swedish-American guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical metal, neoclassical playing style in heavy metal music, heavy metal, and has ...

, and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (also known as SRV; October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (band), Double Trouble. Although his ma ...

. Shin had used Fender guitars for much of his career. The following year, in 2011,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based

Light in the Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-re ...

released the first U.S. pressings of Shin's music. He was honored by

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

with an honorary Doctor of Music Award in 2017.

Personal life

Shin was married to Myeong Jeong-gang, the first South Korean female drummer and a member of Blue Ribbons, until she died on March 23, 2018. They had three sons:

, guitarist for the heavy metal band

Sinawe Sinawe () is a heavy metal/rock band from South Korea. Led by guitarist and sole constant member Shin Daechul, they are credited as being the first heavy metal band in South Korea. During its golden age in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, many now ...

; Shin Yunchul, a singer and guitarist; and Shin Seokchul, a session drummer.

Discography

: # is recently reissued The

Add 4 Shin Joong-hyun (, or ; born January 4, 1938), also transliterated as Shin Jung-hyeon or Sin Junghyeon, is a South Korean rock guitarist and singer-songwriter often referred to as Korea's "Godfather of Rock." A pioneer of Korean rock music, ...

Era * (1959) Guitar Melody Compilation hin Jung-hyeon* (1964) The Woman in Rain-The Add 4 First Album dd 4* (1966) The Ventures of Korea, Add 4 : Shin Jung-hyeon Insturumental Arrange Compilation Vol.1 dd 4* (1967) The Woman in Rain

looz Tet Borgloon (; , ; ) is a former municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006, Borgloon had a total population of 10,697. The total area is which gives a population density of . Borgloon gave its name to th ...

* (1968) Enjoy the Guitar Instrumental Twist dd 4 The Superstar Era : producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist * (1969) Green Apple hin Jung-hyeon* (1969) No/Spring Rain ee Jeong-hwa / Donkeys# * (1969) Before too late / Sgt.Kim from Vietnam im Chu-ja# * (1969) Bell-bottom Trousers/Dear earl Sisters# * (1970) Hello/You're a Fool uestions* (1970) Hit Instrumental Compilation vol.1 hin Jung-hyeon* (1970) In-A-Kadda-Da-Vida hin Jung-hyeon / Questions# * (1971) Sound hin Jung-hyeon and his combo band* (1972) Setting Sun/Woman in the Mist/Beautiful Korea ang Hyeon / Shin Jung-hyeon and The Men# ** Partly reissued as CD 'GeoJitMalIYa', three 20 mins psyche jam pieces * (1972) No/Don't Say to Go

im Jeong-mi IM or Im may refer to: Arts and entertainment * I.M, South Korean rapper and singer; member of boy band Monsta X * "I.M" (song), a song by Israeli singer Michael Ben David * Iron Maiden, a British heavy metal band * Iron Man, a comic book superh ...

# * (1972) Angel/I ... You eo Yu-seok# * (1972) Your Dream/Little Ship ang Hee-eun# ** Shin Jung-hyeon's compositions of Seo Yu-seok and Yang Hee-eun albums reissued as 1CD * (1973) Wind

# * (1973) Now

# Shin Jung-hyeon Bands Era * (1974) The Beauty/Think of You hin Junh-hyeon and YeopJeons# * (1975) Beautiful Korea/Mountain and River hin Jung-hyeon and YeopJeons# * (1975) Instrumental Best hin Jung-hyeon and YeopJeons# * (1980) Nobody Here But/Whenever See You hin Jung-hyeon and Music Power# * (1980) Please Wait/Even Your Leaving hin Jung-hyeon* (1982) The Satellite I Shot/As Waiting Somebody hin Jung-hyeon and Music Power# * (1983) Let's Go/Happy hin Jung-hyeon and SeNaGeuNe Solo * (1988) During the Days/Winter Park hin Jung-hyeon* (1994/2CD) Do Nothing, Let it be hin Jung-hyeon* (1997/2CD) A Tribute to Shin Jung-hyeon arious Artists* (1998/2CD) Kim SatGat hin Jung-hyeon* (2002/5CD Box) Not for Rock hin Jung-hyeon* (2002/2CD Box) Body and Feel hin Jung-hyeon* (2006) The Crane of a City hin Jung-hyeon* (2006) Comfortably Safe hin Jung-hyeon* (2007) Anthology hin Jung-hyeon

Awards and honors

In 2008, Shin won the Lifetime Achievement award at the

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to de ...

. At the 2011

Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards The Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards () is an annual South Korean government-run awards ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Korea Creative Content Agency. The ceremony, which was first held in 2010, "honor th ...

, the South Korean government awarded Shin the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit (3rd class) for "expanding the spectrum of Korean popular music." In 2017, Shin received an honorary degree from the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The president of the college said that Shin "helped build the foundation upon which the global success of South Korean popular music rests."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin, Jung-hyeon 1938 births Living people Musicians from Seoul Singers from Seoul South Korean male singers South Korean rock guitarists South Korean rock singers South Korean singer-songwriters South Korean male singer-songwriters