This is Way Back Wednesday where we feature a blast from the past.
Madonna had a huge influence on many females in the 1980s and Kim Wan Sun had a similar effect in South Korea.
Kim Wan Sun was born in Seoul on May 16, 1969. She started her career as a backup dancer for popular singer Insooni and she was also a member of dance team Rhythm Touch. Under Rhythm Touch she developed a passion for dancing and she also learned ballet, gymnastics, composing, and vocal training. She made her debut at the tender age of 17 in 1986 with the album 'Tonight.' Her songs had messages including female sexuality and promiscuity which was very taboo at the time and she received some media attention for it.
She hit her peak in 1990 / 1991 when she released her fifth studio album 'Pierrot Smiling at Us,' with this release she was the only female pop artist in Korean history to have an album sell more than one million copies. At her peak she was earning enough money to purchase 2-3 buildings a month but this money was misappropriated by her manager, who also happened to be her aunt. Instead of saving up the money, all the money was unknowingly sent to the business of her uncle (aunt's husband). All the money she made was gone.
To make matters worse, after the introduction of K-pop idols in the 1990s, her popularity in Korea started to wane. However, she went overseas to become popular in Taiwan under the name Jin Yuan Xua. Kim Wan Sun's final album 'Return' was released in 2005 and over the years with the shift in music to digital, she has released 5 singles from 2011 to 2016.
Kim Wan Sun is a legend and I hope some of you will appreciate her impact in Korean music.
Bonus "Dance in the Rhythm" performance from 1988:
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