Song Hae

Song Bok-hee was born on 27 April 1927 in modern-day Chaeryŏng-gun, South Hwanghae Province in North Korea.^[4] His family was part of the Yeosan Song clan.^[5] Song started as a singer who majored in operatic singing in Haeju conservatory of music in 1949.^[6]

During the Korean War, he fled via boat to the south, arriving in the port of Busan. He later used the stage name, Hae (meaning sea), as a memory of this voyage.^[7] Song served as a military signaller for the South, and claimed to have transmitted the message for the ceasefire of the Korean War.^[8]

In 1955, Song Hae debuted in the Changgong musical troupe.^[9] In 1988, at the age of 60, Song became the MC for Korea Sings (National Singing Contest) of KBS, a position he held until his death in 2022.^[10]

In 1953, Song married his wife, Suk Ok-ee.^[11] In 1986, his son Chang-jin (1966–1986) was killed in a bike accident on the Hannam Bridge.^[8][12] On 20 January 2018, Ok-ee died.^[11]

Song died at his home in Gangnam of Seoul on 8 June 2022, aged 95.^[13][14] He was cremated at a crematory in Gimcheon and his ashes were buried at the family cemetery nearby Songhae Park (Korean: 송해공원) in Daegu on June 10, 2022.