Veteran singer Na Hoon-a announces his retirement at his last tour concert

Na Hoon-a\'s concert poster. Courtesy of Yeara-Yesori

Veteran singer Na Hoon-a announced his retirement in front of his fans as he embarked on his last tour concert. He expressed his feelings about retirement at the concert titled, “2024 Thank You – The Last Concert” held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon on April 28, saying, “It’s a strange feeling that all my soul is going out.” He added, “If you don’t feel sad saying, ‘Yes, you can stop now,’ how sad would I be to turn around and leave the stage? So I planned to retire when you give me a big hand saying, ‘I’m so sad about your retirement. Please sing more.’”

Na debuted in 1966 with the song “Long-Distance Road.” Since then, he has released countless hit songs, such as “Mushiro,” “Weed,” “Galmuri,” “Why Are You Crying?” “Hometown Station,” and “Ddangbeol.” For the younger generation, he is famous for his song “Brother Tes!” which was released in 2020. The lyrics, in which he calls Socrates “Brother Tes!” and asks, “What’s wrong with the world, why is it so hard?” have been parodied on various broadcasts.

In a letter titled, “Thank you!” released in February, he hinted at his retirement, saying, “I want to follow the deep truth of the easy and simple words to leave when people applaud.” He added, “I never realized it would take so much courage to put down a microphone. I want to shout out to all of you again as loud and high as I can. Thank you, everyone!” At the end of the letter, he wrote, “Preparing for the last concert,” suggesting that the nationwide tour concert which was scheduled to be held between April and July will be his last stage.

On April 28, the first day of the tour, he said on stage, “I was very scared of the microphone. If younger singers get to know how scary it is, they will become real singers from then on.” Then he again nailed down his retirement, saying, “Dear my fans, I’m going to put down the microphone.”

Following Incheon, Na will continue his concerts in Wonju, Cheongju, Ulsan, Jeonju, and Cheonan. Next month, he will perform in Cheongju (the 11th) and Ulsan (the 18th), and in June in Changwon (the 1st), Cheonan (the 15th), Wonju (the 22nd), and in July in Jeonju (the 6th).

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.