Veteran singer Na Hoon-a criticizes politics at his retirement concert

Singer Na Hoon-a held his retirement concert at the KSPO Dome in Seoul on January 10. Reporter Ye A-ra, Ye So-ri

Veteran singer Na Hoon-a, 78, made political comments, such as “What did you (the opposition) do well?” and “Only North Korean leader Kim Jong-un likes it,” referring to the situation in South Korea after President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived martial law imposition on December 3, during his retirement concert last week.

Na used the words “right” and “left” to refer to the current political situation during the first day of his concert held at the KSPO Dome in Seoul on January 10. It seems that the singer compared those who oppose Yoon’s impeachment, including the ruling People's Power Party (PPP), to the “right” and the six opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to the “left.”

He said, “The left is looking at the right and is making a fuss that they did wrong. Did you do well?” he asked, recounting an anecdote from his past when he was beaten by his mother for fighting with his brother. "When I had a fight with my brother, my mother would come and listen to our story and tell us to roll up our pants," he said. "She smacked both my brother and me. My mother doesn't know anything, but if there is logic, she thought no matter what the reason is, brothers should not fight.” He added, "Is the situation (that the left is making such a fuss) really for the good of the country and the people?”

Na shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, including national defense, the economy, suicide rates, and low birth rate. “We are a country where bombs fall on our heads,” he said. "Soldiers are being taken in (in such a country), and some are weeping. Isn't it funny that we should entrust our lives to them?" He added, “Who likes this situation? Maybe North Korea’s Kim Jong-un would like it. The problem is that the media is broadcasting this live.”

Na’s remark that “we should talk about national defense and the economy” drew applause and cheers from the elderly audience who said, “That's right!” and “The country is a mess.”

The concert was Na’s farewell performance. Na, who debuted in 1967, has enjoyed a brilliant six-decade career with numerous hits such as “Mushiro,” “Weed,” “Ball,” “Bumblebee,” “Give Me Back My Youth,” and “Guy.” After announcing his decision to retire in a handwritten letter last year, he has been traveling around the country for a year to perform his retirement concerts.

At the beginning of the show, Na said, “I won't make you think that you wasted money for this concert,” and after each song, he put up a partition on stage and changed his outfit. Wearing a see-through pink knit, white sleeveless tee, and ripped jeans, he ran around the stage and between the audiences. At the end of each song, he breathed heavily, but boasted his unshakable voice when he actually sang. When he sang "While the Waterwheel Spin," he played a video of his appearance on a TV show in 1996, creating the illusion of a duet between today’s Na and him from the past. The performance, which was scheduled for two hours, lasted more than two and a half hours.

The last song of the performance was “Guy.“ The singer said, “I lived a life of walking on clouds. It sounds good, but it wasn't easy to live like that. Now I’m going to live by walking on the ground. I'm putting the microphone down,” and then he sent the microphone off on the drone.

When Na's remarks became known after the concert, some in politics criticized the singer. DPK lawmaker Kim Won-I said on his Facebook account on January 11, “I want to ask him if he knows what happened and why the emergency martial law declaration and civil war happened, who is responsible for it and what our people are doing to bring South Korea back to normal.” Kim Yung-rok, Governor of South Jeolla Province, said, "We should never understand the current situation simply by the logic where the left and the right fight."

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