Jang transports envoys to the ‘Beautiful World’

He may be small in stature, but Jang Sa-ik proved he had the voice of a mountain when he entertained Seoul’s diplomatic community in an end-of-year concert Friday.

The haegeum traditional fiddle and Korean percussion fused with piano and guitar as Jang took the audience on a “Voyage to the Beautiful World” at Seoul Women’s Plaza.

At times he sang from the side of his mouth, at others he tilted his head back and let the emotive Korean lyrics pour freely out of him. His body bobbed up and down as if he were being buoyed along by the power of his own vocals.

Jang sported a white hanbok while the Solists Choir and other musicians wore sharp black suits. Together they mergedpopular music, jazz and traditional Korean sounds to earn a standing ovation from the international audience.

“It was an unforgettable evening,” Slovakian Ambassador to Seoul Dusan Bella said. “I have seen him play at events before but this is the first time I have seen him play a full concert and it was a fabulous performance.”

Ivory Coast Ambassador Ekra Kouassi Florent said: “I think this singer is one of the best I have seen in Korea. He mixed traditional and modern songs well. It was very nice.”

Jang, who lives in Hongji-dong in the shadow of Mount Inwang, invited the ambassadors in the avdence to pop by his house to share “doenjang guk” (soybean paste soup) sometime.

“Although Koreans can understand what I am singing the ambassadors from other countries might not, but I hope you can get a feeling of what I am singing from listening to the music,” he told the crowd.

The folk singer grew up listening to the sound of his father and uncle playing the taepyeongso, a Korean oboe, in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province in the 50s and 60s, and first rose to fame with his debut album ‘Passage to Heaven’ in 1995.

He now often performs at official functions in Korea and sang at U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Stephens’ farewell party in September, but he had many jobs including one at a car wash before his remarkable talent was discovered.

The singer has also promoted Korean music overseas, holding concerts in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

By Kirsty Taylor (kirstyt@heraldcorp.com)