He penned numerous protest anthems, including "Morning Dew," and lyrical folk songs during the turbulent times. Later, he created a legendary rock musical and nurtured pop culture artists through his iconic theater, Hakchon.
According to his family Monday, Kim was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer late last year. He was taken to a hospital in Goyang, west of Seoul, on Saturday after his condition suddenly worsened. He died at the hospital at 8:26 p.m. on Sunday.
Born in 1951, the versatile artist started composing songs while he was a student at Seoul National University, but his early career faced obstacles as many of his songs were subject to government censorship. Many of his songs, including "Morning Dew" and "Evergreen Tree," became hugely popular among protesters during the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 80s.
In his later years, Kim founded Hakchon, a theater in central Seoul in 1991 and staged "Subway Line 1," the Korean adaption of the German musical in 1994. The rock musical remained a staple of the theater, running for nearly three decades. By the time its final curtain fell in 2023, it had been performed over 8,000 times, attracting more than 700,000 audiences.
The theater served as the birthplace of many notable Korean actors like Cho Seung-woo, Hwang Jung-min and Sol Kyung-gu, until its closure in March this year due to financial constraints.
A funeral will be held at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul on Wednesday. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
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