22. KIM CHU-JA []
YEARS OF ACTIVITY: 1969-1988
DISCOGRAPHY:
Before It's Late [] (1969)
Kim Chu-Ja Stereo Hit Album No. 1 [ No.1] (1970)Kim Chu-Ja Stereo Hit Album No. 2 [ No.2] (1970)Stereo Hit Album No. 3 [ No.3] (1971)After Tonight [ ] (1972)Beautiful Sunday (1973)Kim Choo Ja (1973)Where Should I Go (1974)Kim Choo Ja (1974)Now (1974)Deserted Island [] (1974)Kim Choo Ja (1980)Kim Choo Ja Vol. 1 (1980)Kim Choo Ja Vol. 2 (1980)The Way [ ] (1980)Blow, the Wind [ ] (1980)Kim Chu-Ja Comeback [ ] (1988)
REPRESENTATIVE SONG: "It's a Lie" from After Tonight
IT'S A LIE
It's a lie
It's a lie, it's a lie
It's a lie, it's a lie
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
It's a lie
It's a lie, it's a lie
It's a lie, it's a lie
Love is a lie, smiles are lies too
Is it really forgotten like that
Forgotten with the time
Met in the smiles and
Parting in the tears
I will never love again
I will forget you
After you met me
You left me, you left me
It's a lie, it's a lie, it's a lie
It's a lie, it's a lie
IN 15 WORDS OR LESS: Queen of the 70s; Korean pop music's first sex symbol.
MAYBE SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RANKED HIGHER BECAUSE... Few other artists have dominated a decade like Kim Chu-Ja did.
MAYBE SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RANKED LOWER BECAUSE... She did not create her own music.
WHY IS THIS ARTIST IMPORTANT?
Kim Chu-Ja ruled the 1970s. This short and simple statement is quite enough to describe the entirety of Kim Chu-Ja's spectacular career. To be sure, her career was greatly helped by the genius of Shin Joong-Hyeon, who supplied the trend-setting psychedelic and soul music. But like with Lee Sora, the vessel of creativity matters. Without Kim Chu-Ja, Shin Joong-Hyeon could not have realized his vision either.
And boy, did Kim ever realize Shin's vision. Until Kim Chu-Ja, pop music in Korea featuring a woman was an ossified formula of the Japanese-influenced trot music sung in high pitch by a woman who was standing still, like a plastic mannequin with a voice box. Take, for example, the album cover of Lee Mi-Ja, the epitome of Korean female trot singer who preceded Kim Chu-Ja by about five years:
(source)
In contrast, take a look at Kim Chu-Ja's album cover.
(source)
And of course, this one.
Dayam!
(source)
Even in the conservative Korea of the 1970s, everything about Kim Chu-Ja was sexy. Her sultry, breathy voice charged Shin Joong-Hyeon's songs with implied debauchery. Unlike the emaciated female celebrities that would come to dominate the scene for the next 20 years, Kim Chu-Ja had plenty on her body that she was not afraid to show off in her dances. She wore tight jeans or mini skirts, with cleavage-boasting tops to boot. In short, Kim Chu-Ja was Korea's first female pop star who overtly used her sex appeal.
That is not to say that Kim Chu-Ja was no greater than the cheap pretty dolls that litter the Korean pop music scene today. Ultimately, it was her undeniable musical talent that made her the icon of the decade. But awakening the raw animal spirit that still animates Korean pop music to this day was Kim's defining achievement. If you got into K-pop because of KARA's butt dance, you have Kim Chu-Ja to thank.
INTERESTING TRIVIA 1: Kim's song "It's a Lie" was banned by the military dictatorship, on the allegation that it instigates distrust. The military government also suspected her dance in "It's a Lie" to be a hand signal for North Korean spies.
INTERESTING TRIVIA 2: When Kim refused the marriage proposal by her manager, her manager struck her face with a broken bottle. She received over 100 stitches and six plastic surgery operations as a result.
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