By Dong Sun-hwa
Various K-pop idols may have attained unprecedented international fame in the past few years, but many so-called “K-pop makers” have received far less attention than they deserve, despite their contributions to the birth of these megastars.
Vocal trainer Kim Sung-eun, who has taught big-name artists such as members of BTS and Twice, and solo star Kang Daniel, is one such behind-the-scenes figure. “In the past, I felt like an empty shell or an outsider – I couldn’t be judged by who I really was,” Kim said during a recent interview at the headquarters of the WIP Company – a K-pop academy she established in the Mapo district of the South Korean capital, Seoul, in 2011.“People evaluate a vocal trainer based on the performance of their singers. But I couldn’t escape my own vanity – and realised I needed to teach what I knew to others to build up my reputation.”
Kim has had a burning passion for music since she was young, and her professional career started in 2003 after she was featured in the video for hip-hop artist MC Sniper’s track Korean.
Her talent for singing was obvious, and she was soon offered a job as a singing coach for trainee idols. Her first students were K-pop girl group Baby Vox Re. V, who made their debut in 2007. As her students started making progress, more people asked Kim for help.
Since then, she has taught a number of successful K-pop stars, including ex-Wonder Girl and current solo artist Sunmi and Sandeul, a solo singer who made his debut as part of boy band B1A4. Kim has more than 15 years’ experience and says that while she didn’t have a sense of duty at first, she has now fallen in love with her job.
“As I grew older, I learned to let things go, and I met many good people in the industry who helped me fill the void I had,” said Kim, who previously appeared under the stage name A.G. Sungeun. “Initially, it was hard for me to interact with singers and officials from the labels, but now we are close enough to have private gatherings and lend a hand to each other when needed.”
Kim said one of these “good people” was Jin of K-pop giants BTS – she gave the star singing lessons alongside his fellow BTS members Jungkook and V for more than a year before the band made their debut in 2013.“When Jin was a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment, he practised singing Asher Book’s Try during a lesson, but could barely pull it off. Several years later, he sent me a new recording and said: ‘Please listen to this. Didn’t I improve?’ He was so proficient, but what touched me the most was his attitude. Despite being a superstar with a hectic schedule, he always tries do better.”
Kim added that Twice star Jihyo – another of her students – was also full of passion. “She recently played an acoustic gig at a little theatre as part of Twice’s ‘Melody project’ [solo series] and successfully performed five challenging tracks. She really pushed the envelope,” Kim said.Kim admitted that some students are easier to train than others.
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“A flexible attitude and core muscle strength matter the most,” she said. “Training usually starts with fixing the problems of each student and upgrading their techniques comes next. But some students feel uneasy during this period, fearing that they are not improving the way I want them to. But they should be more open-minded and embrace the changes instead of sticking to their own beliefs.”
Kim also gave her own definition of a “good singer”. Defying the common belief that singers who could naturally hit high notes were usually the best, she said an ability to express “emotions” was the hallmark of a stand-out performer.
“If a singer can resonate with listeners by fluently expressing their emotions while making good use of ‘tools’ such as the tune and lyrics, then this is the best artist for me,” she said. “Hitting high notes is merely a technique. Numerous singers can still rock a track with other talents without resorting to an extremely high-pitched sound.”
Kim singled out solo artists IU and Kang Daniel for their prowess and dedication.“Many people know IU excels in high-pitched tones and has a velvety voice, but don’t realise how well she gets into a rhythm or how skilfully she expresses her emotions in a song,” Kim said.
“And with Kang, I was surprised by his vocals after listening to one of his songs without any auto tune. He was a rapper/dancer [with now-defunct boy band Wanna One], but his sound was so deep and he was really able to interpret the tunes. Kang is very serious about his music and puts a lot of effort into his work.”When asked about her goals for the future, Kim said: “I hope my students can achieve their musical goals and our teachers have more chances to teach,” she said.
“These days, it has been hard to take care of myself as I’ve had to manage the other people around me. But now I want to learn more about singing and further hone my skills … I still want to upgrade myself.”
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