Hyun Cheol

Hyun Cheol
Hyun Cheol
Birth name	Kang Sang-soo
Born	July 29, 1942; Busan, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	July 15, 2024 (aged 81); Seoul, South Korea
Genres	Trot
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1969–2020
Korean name
Hangul	현철
Hanja	玄哲
Revised Romanization	Hyeon Cheol
McCune–Reischauer	Hyŏn Ch'ŏl

Kang Sang-soo^[1] (Korean: 강상수; Hanja: 姜祥秀; July 29, 1942 – July 15, 2024), known professionally as Hyun Cheol (현철; 玄哲), was a South Korean singer, considered one of the "four emperors of trot" due to his fame during the late 1980s.

Biography

Born in 1942 in Busan, Hyun Cheol studied at Dong-a University. He made his debut in 1969 with the song My Heartless Love, after which he joined the band Hyun Chul & Bees, which achieved little success. He achieved success as a solo artist in 1982 with the hits I Think of You Whenever I Sit or Stand and Love Is Like a Butterfly, becoming one of the most popular singers of the late 1980s and being considered part of the "four emperors of trot" along with Sul Woon-do, Tae Jin-ah and Song Dae-kwan. In 1989 and 1990 he won the grand prize at the KBS Music Awards for Garden Balsam Love and Not Anymore, respectively.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Hyun Cheol's health began to deteriorate after cervical disc surgery that caused damage to his nervous system and forced him to stop musical activity to focus on recovery. His last television appearance was in episode 74 of Immortal Songs in 2020.^[4] In the spring of 2024 he was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Guui-dong hospital in Seoul after falling ill with pneumonia.^[5] He died on July 15 and, after a funeral held at Asan Hospital in the South Korean capital, was buried at Bundang Memorial Park.^[5]^[6]

References

^ "스카이데일리, 강수연·강호동 연예인 알부자 '무적 대장군 후예'". www.skyedaily.com. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
^ Shim Sun-ah (16 July 2024). "Trot singer Hyun Cheol of 'Garden Balsam Love' dies at 82".
^ Hong Yoo (2024-07-16). "Trot singer Hyun Cheol of 'Garden Balsam Love' dies at 82". Retrieved 2024-07-16.
^ ^a ^b Kang Seon-ae (16 July 2024). "'봉선화 연정' 트로트 가수 현철 별세…향년 82세" (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-07-16.
^ ^a ^b Jin Hyanghee (2024-07-16). "Singer Hyun-chul (real name Kang Sang-soo, 82) who dominated the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s". Retrieved 2024-07-16.
^ Seunghun Ji (2024-07-16). "Singer Hyun-chul, a big star in the trot world, has passed away". Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[1] "스카이데일리, 강수연·강호동 연예인 알부자 '무적 대장군 후예'". www.skyedaily.com. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2022-11-14.

[2] Shim Sun-ah (16 July 2024). "Trot singer Hyun Cheol of 'Garden Balsam Love' dies at 82".

[3] Hong Yoo (2024-07-16). "Trot singer Hyun Cheol of 'Garden Balsam Love' dies at 82". Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[:0-4] Kang Seon-ae (16 July 2024). "'봉선화 연정' 트로트 가수 현철 별세…향년 82세" (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[:1-5] Jin Hyanghee (2024-07-16). "Singer Hyun-chul (real name Kang Sang-soo, 82) who dominated the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s". Retrieved 2024-07-16.

[6] Seunghun Ji (2024-07-16). "Singer Hyun-chul, a big star in the trot world, has passed away". Retrieved 2024-07-16.

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