Japanese actress Yoo Min recalls Korean memories at Kim Dong-ryul concert

Japanese actress Yoo Min expressed deep emotion on the 26th after attending a Kim Dong-ryul concert, marking a special connection to the music that comforted her during her time in Korea around 2001. The 47-year-old, who has suspended her Korean activities since 2013 following the drama IRIS II, shared that the singer's songs helped her learn the language and cope with loneliness.

Japanese actress Yoo Min has shared sincere reflections on her past time in Korea, marking 13 years since she suspended her activities in the country. She confessed that during a period when she felt lonely in an unfamiliar environment, Korean ballads and music videos provided her with comfort. In particular, she revisited a special connection with Korean music after attending a concert by Kim Dong-ryul, an event she had long wished to attend, expressing deep emotion.

On the 26th, Yoo Min posted a long message on her social media along with photos from the Kim Dong-ryul concert. "The concert of Korean ballad singer Kim Dong-ryul, whom I thought I must attend at least once in my life. When it comes to autumn in Korea, it is definitely ballads. It was a truly happy time," she stated. In a photo showing her with a bright smile in the concert hall lobby, the joy of fulfilling a long-held wish and a relaxed atmosphere were evident.

The reason this performance was special to Yoo Min was not simply because she saw a favorite singer's stage. To her, Kim Dong-ryul's songs are music intertwined with her memories of living in Korea. Recalling the period around 2001 when she stayed in Korea, she noted that the music videos at the time were produced with cinematic grandeur. Beyond just listening to the music, she experienced Korean culture through the stories and atmosphere within the videos.

“During lonely days, I found comfort by watching various music videos and also studied Korean,” she revealed. She explained that she soothed the loneliness experienced while living in a foreign country through music and learned the Korean language through the songs and videos. The music of that time appears to have served as a channel for her to adapt to a new environment and compose herself, beyond mere leisure.

She drew attention by revealing that she particularly liked Kim Dong-ryul's "Should I Say I Love You Again?". The fact that she remembers a specific song and its music video so vividly after all this time suggests how deep an impression the music left on her. Music can remain as a special memory by combining with a listener's personal experiences beyond its release period. For Yoo Min, Kim Dong-ryul's songs have become a medium that brings back memories of her youth spent in Korea.

The emotion did not easily fade even after watching the concert. “Kim Dong-ryul is a person who creates songs that connect with the memories in a person's life, so he only has masterpieces. Even though it was a few days ago, the lingering emotion remains. It has become an unforgettable, precious autumn,” she said. This expressed her respect for the singer and the meaning music has held in her life. Having directly experienced a performance she had cherished in her heart for a long time, the lingering impression appears to be deep.

Yoo Min began her activities in Korea through the 2001 MBC drama "Our House". Since then, she appeared in dramas such as "All In" and "Life Is Beautiful", and made herself known to the public through variety programs including "Kang Ho-dong's Perfect Match" and "X-Man". Noted for her calm and exotic atmosphere, she left a unique presence in the Korean entertainment industry, moving between dramas and variety shows.

Following the drama "IRIS II" in 2013, she suspended her activities in Korea and has been focusing on her career in Japan. In 2018, she married a non-celebrity Japanese man and has one son. Although her activities in Korea have stopped, the experiences and memories from that time have not disappeared. The memories of her life in Korea shared by the 47-year-old Yoo Min after a long time bring joy to viewers who shared that era with her.

Above all, this confession shows how long music can stay in a person's memory beyond a single actor's current status. The songs that provided comfort during her lonely life in Korea led to an actual concert after years had passed, and that experience has once again become a precious memory. For Yoo Min, Kim Dong-ryul's music is not just a past hit, but a special entity that connects the time and emotions she spent in Korea.

Read the original (Korean)