Song Bok-hee (; 27 April 1927 – 8 June 2022), also known professionally as Song Hae (), was a South Korean television music show host and singer. He had been the host of the longest running music show ''
National Singing Contest
''Korea Sings'' () is a South Korean music program. It airs live on KBS 1TV on Sunday at 12:10 beginning November 9, 1980. For Korean holidays, the show has been hosted overseas. In 2003, the show was hosted in Pyongyang during National Liberati ...
'' from 1988 until his death in 2022, and was also a veteran of the
Korean War.
Early life
Song Bok-hee was born on 27 April 1927 in modern-day
Chaeryŏng-gun,
South Hwanghae Province in North Korea. His family was part of the
Yeosan Song clan. Song started as a singer who majored in operatic singing in Haeju conservatory of music in 1949.
During the Korean War, he fled via boat to the south, arriving in the port of Busan. He later used the
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
, Hae (meaning sea), as a memory of this voyage. Song served as a military signaller for the South, and claimed to have transmitted the message for the ceasefire of the Korean War.
Career
In 1955, Song Hae debuted in the Changgong musical troupe. In 1988, at the age of 60, Song became the emcee for ''Korea Sings'', a position he held until his death in 2022.
Personal life and death
In 1953, Song married his wife, Suk Ok-ee.
In 1986, his son Chang-jin (19661986) was killed in a bike accident on the
Hannam Bridge.
On 20 January 2018, Ok-ee passed away.
Song died at his home in
Gangnam
Gangnam or Kangnam may refer to:
Places
Stations
Other uses
* Kangnam (singer) (born 1987), a member of the South Korean hip hop group M.I.B.
* Kangnam University, a university in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
See also
* "Gangnam Sty ...
of Seoul on 8 June 2022, aged 95.
He
was cremated at a crematory in
Gimcheon and his ashes were buried at the family cemetery nearby Songhae Park () in
Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
on June 10, 2022.
Filmography
Television shows
Film
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Hae
1927 births
2022 deaths
Trot singers
South Korean television presenters
South Korean radio presenters
South Korean male comedians
South Korean male singers
South Korean military personnel of the Korean War
Yeosan Song clan
South Korean Buddhists
People from South Hwanghae
People from Chaeryong County