ID :
375562
Wed, 07/29/2015 - 03:54
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S. Korean singer Lee Mi-ja to hold free concert in Japan

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Legendary South Korean singer Lee Mi-ja will hold a free concert in Japan next month to mark the 70th anniversary of Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. Mindan, a community of pro-Seoul Koreans in Japan, invited the trot singer to perform at Hibiya Kokaido, an outdoor theater, in Tokyo on Aug. 15, the sources said. Trot is an early Korean pop genre influenced by contemporary Japanese and Western music. "She wanted to bridge the two countries, whose relations have remained strained, on this meaningful occasion," a source close to Lee said. The 74-year-old debuted in 1959 and became the first South Korean singer to perform in North Korea in 2003. This will be her first charity concert in Japan, though she has performed there many times. She was reportedly asked by Mindan because she symbolizes the hardship South Korea faced in the early 20th century. "Lady Dongbaek," "A Goose Father" and "A Teacher in an Island" are among the hit songs she will be performing in Tokyo. She will also sing "Kanashii Sake" by Misora Hibari, a Japanese singer she is regularly compared with, and an adaptation of a song aired on South Korean radio on the 20th anniversary of Korean liberation. South Korean singer Jo Young-nam will appear as a guest at the event, the source said. (END)

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