K-pop stars Psy, JYJ to perform at presidential inauguration ceremony

Music performances will add to the celebratory mood of the presidential inauguration ceremony on Monday.

Singers, musicians and comedians will perform before thousands of people invited to the inauguration ceremony in the morning.

K-pop sensation Psy and boy group JYJ will be among the entertainers who will help fire up the festive mood. 

Soprano Sumi Jo will also take the center stage, singing the national anthem with baritone Choi Hyun-soo during the event at which Park Geun-hye will be sworn in as president.

Four top female singers representing different music genres, including pop singer Insooni, jazz singer Na Yoon-sun, Korean traditional music singer Ahn Sook-seon and musical singer Choi Jeong-won, will sing “Arirang Fantasy,” a modern reinterpretation of the Korean folk song Arirang, composed by composer Yang Bang-ean.

A variety of performances are scheduled before Park arrives for the swearing-in.

Korean traditional percussion instrumentalist Kim Deok-su will open the pre-ceremony event with a solo performance, followed by his famous Samulnori group performance.

Comedians from KBS’ “Gag Concert” will emcee the pre-ceremonial event. A team from the popular skit “Brave Guys” will stage a special performance between music performances.

Singers have been chosen to perform songs that represent each decade of Korea’s modern history.

Popular trot singer Jang Yoon-jung will open the stage singing popular songs from 1950s and ’60s; musical actor Nam Kyung-joo and musical actress Sonya will together perform famous pop music of the 1970s and ’80s.

K-pop boy group JYJ will represent the 1990s with the famous songs of Seo Taeji and Boys and YB’s “Oh, Victory to Korea,” a hit song of the 2002 World Cup in Korea.

Ulala Session, the winner of the audition program Superstar K3 in 2011, was requested to sing songs of the 1990s at the inauguration ceremony but, according to news reports, they turned down the offer from the presidential inauguration ceremony preparation committee as their leader Lim Yoon-taek died after battling gastric cancer on Feb. 11.

The official ceremony includes the swearing-in, followed by the march of the guard of honor, then the presidential speech and music performances.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)