South Korean Grandmas Rap about Farm Life
2024-02-17
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1A group of South Korean rappers in their eighties has become popular in their hometown and beyond.
2The group raps about farm life and bringing energy to a quiet rural area threatened by shrinking population.
3The group is called Suni and the Seven princesses.
4They have become famous in their local area since starting out at a community center last August in Chilgok County.
5The area is southeast of the capital, Seoul.
6"It feels like I'm getting younger...Even if I'm old, I'm excited," said 81-year-old Park Jeom-sun of a recent performance at a school.
7She is the leader of the group and known as Suni.
8At first, they had a small fan group of 150 people, but the group's popularity spread.
9They have been asked to perform in nearby towns and to appear on TV shows.
10Their videos have gained more than 77,000 views on YouTube.
11Their success comes as South Korea is about to become a "super-ageing" country as early as next year.
12One fifth of the country's population is over the age of 65.
13Rural areas like Chilgok are shrinking as young people move away to the cities and fewer of them have children.
14Park said, "In the past, it felt like I'm living in a really busy town, but now it's not good. There are no people here anymore."
15Park said she and the group feel like they are reliving their youth when they perform in clothes like funny hats and baggy pants and wear metal jewelry.
16Their songs tell about rural life with lines like: "Picking chili from a chili farm...Picking watermelon from a watermelon farm. So happy to be back home!"
17Watermelon and chili are popular crops in the area.
18The group members have known each other since they were young.
19They could not receive an education during the years after the Korean War.
20In 2016, they all took an adult education class to learn how to read and write the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
21Last year, Park came across a rap performance on the internet and the group decided to learn rap from their Hangul teacher.
22They wanted to form a senior group, rapping about rural life.
23Their first performance came at a school play at the same community center where they met for their Hangul classes.
24Inspired by the success of Suni and the Seven Princesses, four other rap groups of older South Koreans have appeared in Chilgok.
25Some formed with the idea of keeping their minds strong and to not feel alone.
26Park's proud 27-year-old granddaughter, Kang Hye-eun, believes her grandmother is the most famous person of Chilgok.
27She said, "I thought only celebrities become popular on social media, but my grandmother is there now."
28I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A group of South Korean rappers in their eighties has become popular in their hometown and beyond. The group raps about farm life and bringing energy to a quiet rural area threatened by shrinking population. 2The group is called Suni and the Seven princesses. They have become famous in their local area since starting out at a community center last August in Chilgok County. The area is southeast of the capital, Seoul. 3"It feels like I'm getting younger...Even if I'm old, I'm excited," said 81-year-old Park Jeom-sun of a recent performance at a school. She is the leader of the group and known as Suni. 4At first, they had a small fan group of 150 people, but the group's popularity spread. They have been asked to perform in nearby towns and to appear on TV shows. Their videos have gained more than 77,000 views on YouTube. 5Their success comes as South Korea is about to become a "super-ageing" country as early as next year. One fifth of the country's population is over the age of 65. 6Rural areas like Chilgok are shrinking as young people move away to the cities and fewer of them have children. 7Park said, "In the past, it felt like I'm living in a really busy town, but now it's not good. There are no people here anymore." 8Park said she and the group feel like they are reliving their youth when they perform in clothes like funny hats and baggy pants and wear metal jewelry. 9Their songs tell about rural life with lines like: "Picking chili from a chili farm...Picking watermelon from a watermelon farm. So happy to be back home!" 10Watermelon and chili are popular crops in the area. 11The group members have known each other since they were young. They could not receive an education during the years after the Korean War. In 2016, they all took an adult education class to learn how to read and write the Korean alphabet, Hangul. 12Last year, Park came across a rap performance on the internet and the group decided to learn rap from their Hangul teacher. They wanted to form a senior group, rapping about rural life. 13Their first performance came at a school play at the same community center where they met for their Hangul classes. 14Inspired by the success of Suni and the Seven Princesses, four other rap groups of older South Koreans have appeared in Chilgok. Some formed with the idea of keeping their minds strong and to not feel alone. 15Park's proud 27-year-old granddaughter, Kang Hye-eun, believes her grandmother is the most famous person of Chilgok. 16She said, "I thought only celebrities become popular on social media, but my grandmother is there now." 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18Minwoo Park reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21rap - n. a type of music that has words that are spoken with the rhythm instead of being sung 22excited - adj. very enthusiastic and eager about something 23baggy -adj. loose fitting and not tight 24inspired - adj. having a particular cause or influence 25proud - adj. very happy and pleased because of something you have done, something you own, or someone you know or are related to 26celebrity - n. a person who is famous