SEO TAIJI (the korean band)

Seo Taiji
Birth name Jeong Hyeon-cheol
Also known as Taiji, Dae-Jang, Seomeo, Seovely, Rubberband Lord, Seocrooge
Born February 21, 1972 (1972-02-21) (age 39)
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres Pop, heavy metal, hip hop, rap rock, nu metal, emocore
Years active 1989–1996
1998–present
Labels Bando Entertainment
Seo Taiji Company
Yedang Entertainment
Associated acts Sinawe, Seo Taiji and Boys, Seo Taiji Band
Website http://www.seotaiji.com/
Birth name
Hangul 정현철
Hanja 鄭鉉哲
Revised Romanization Jeong Hyeon-cheol
McCune–Reischauer Chŏng Hyŏnch'ŏl
Stage name
Hangul 서태지
Revised Romanization Seo Tae-ji
McCune–Reischauer Sŏ T'aeji

Seo Taiji (Jeong Hyeon-cheol), born on February 21, 1972) is a South Korean singer, musician, and songwriter. After dropping out of high school to pursue a music career, he has risen to become one of the most prominent and influential cultural icons in Korea; many refer to him as "the President of culture".[1] He introduced incorporating elements of popular musical genres in the United States and contributed considerably larger to Korean pop culture and Korean pop's development in the 1990s. He had been secretly married to Actress Lee Ji Ah for 9 years until 2006, when the couple filed for divorce in the US.

Early career with SinaweAt an early age, Hyeon-cheol had a fascination with music. At 14, he participated in several amateur rock bands. At 17, he took the stage name of Seo Taiji when he was recruited into the metal band Sinawe, playing the bass. He chose to drop out of school, a system that he felt did nothing but corrupt the minds of youth, and began his career as a professional musician.[2]

[edit] Seo Tai-ji & Boys: 1992-1996After the break up of Sinawe in 1991, Tai-ji switched gears and formed the dance group Seo Tai-ji & Boys (서태지와 아이들) with dancers Lee Ju-no (이주노) and Yang Hyeon-seok (양현석).

[edit] 1992: Nan Arayo (I Know)The introduction of the first Seo Tai-ji & Boys album sparked a complete shift in the focus of popular Korean music that is still felt today. Their first single, "Nan Arayo" (난 알아요, "I Know") was a hugely successful hit, being the first of its kind in K-Pop to meld contemporary dance sounds with urban-influenced rap lyrics.

[edit] 1993: HayeogaThe second album took a different turn. While the album remained mostly a dance album, the songs had elements of rock and heavy metal added to them.

[edit] 1994: Balhae reul Ggumggumyeo (Dreaming For Balhae(渤海))The third album switched gears to being much more heavy metal and rock driven. The danceable tunes are nearly non-existent except Barhae reul Ggumggumyeo (발해를 꿈꾸며 Dreaming Of Balhae), an alternative rock song which indicates a hope of reunification of Korea. Instead, songs such as the extremely controversial Gyosil Idea (교실 이데아, Class Idea) with an impressive death grunt backvocal by Ahn Heung-Chan (안흥찬) of Crash took center stage. Gyosil Idea was extremely critical of the Korean education system and its brainwashing of the youth of Korea. This was the first of the numerous controversies regarding Seo Tai-ji and Boys. They were accused of backwards masking Satanist messages in their songs. Although the mainstream news media later proved these accusations to be based on extremely tenuous evidence, the moral panic proved difficult to eliminate entirely.

[edit] 1995: Come Back HomeNot backing down, Seo Tai-ji and Boys' fourth album exploded with more controversial songs. "Come Back Home" was a foray into Korean gangster rap. It really made many runaway teenagers in South Korea "come back home." Pilseung(필승, "Must Triumph") was also a great hit with alternative rock sound and shouting voice. Shidaeyugam (시대유감, "Regret of the Times") was nearly banned by the Korean Performance Ethics Committee(한국공연윤리위원회, present is '한국영상물관리위원회'[Korean Video Management Committee]) for having lyrics that were considered inappropriate for youth consumption. The backlash from the fans was immense, and the system of 'pre-censorship'(사전심의제) was abolished in July 1996, partially as a result of this.

[edit] 1996: RetirementSeo-Taiji and Boys retired from South Korea's popular music scene in January 1996 during its heyday. Both Lee Ju-no and Yang Hyeon-seok established record labels right after their retirement. Yang Hyeon-seok was very successful making YG Entertainment a big corporation. After declaration on retirement, Seo Tai-ji and Boys released their Goodbye Best Album, which is the only compilation album from Seo Tai-ji and Boys. In the booklet, the writing indicates "Yes, it's not over, our love will continue as '&', not the 'End'."

[edit] 1997: MarriageOn April 21, 2011 it was revealed by daily SportsSeoul and later confirmed by numerous media outlets that Seo Taiji married his ex-wife Lee Ji Ah (real name Kim Sang Eun) on October 21, 1997. Their union was kept secret because both Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah kept their personal lives hidden from the media. In the past, netizens have commented on Lee Ji Ah's past- giving her the infamous nickname of "alien" because of her intentional effort to cover up her private/past life. In addition, many believe the real reason behind the controversial disbandment of Seo Taiji and the Boys was because of his relationship with Lee Ji Ah. Since their marriage in October, the once happy couple lived in Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia from Seo's retirement in 1996 until his return in June 2000. Lee filed for divorce in 2006 citing both lifestyle and personality differences. Their divorce was finalized in August, 2006. Their relationship went public after Lee sued Seo for alimony, since then (as of 4/21/2011) they have had two appearances in court- once in January 2011 and April 2011. Currently (as of 4/21/2011) they have yet to settle their lawsuit.

There is debate as to whether or not this explosive news was tipped off to SportsSeoul by the Korean government in order to take spot light off of the BBK scandal involving Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

[edit] Solo career: 1998-Present[edit] 1998: Seo Tai JiTwo year after Seo Tai-ji and Boys' retirement, Taiji resumed his career as a musician. His solo career has and continues to also be successful. He recurred to return to his true roots and perform rock music. Without any appearances or activity in South Korea, he released an album with a couple of music videos in 1998. There was some controversy over his sudden reversal of retirement, but his first Solo album "Seo Tai Ji" sold more than a million copies even without any promotion in Korea. His first solo work included heavy metal and Nu metal songs, but the main genre was still alternative rock. Although it was his first solo work, fans refer to it as his 5th album.

[edit] 2000: UltramaniaIn 2000, he returned to South Korea after a four year absence. He released the album Ultramania which consisted of Nu metal and Hardcore punk. His solo act had an effect on many South Korean boy bands such as H.O.T. and caused them to decline in popularity. His songs "Internet War" and "Ultramania" were the biggest hits of the year. After the ETPFEST, which he founded during his comeback, Taiji was presented with hide of X Japan's Fernandes MG-360S guitar, which is yellow with pink hearts, by hide's parents and his brother, Hiroshi, to celebrate the success of ETPFEST and the first hide Showcase tribute ever at a rock festival by X Japan. During his comeback, there were arguments that his seldom appearance on TV was aimed to make a mysterious image which helps promote his popularity, but in reality his personality is very reclusive and little is known about his personal life by the public.

[edit] 2004: 7th IssueSeo Taiji maintained his Nu metal sound in his third solo album, 7th Issue. However, unlike Ultramania, 7th Issue was recorded mostly on a dropped C tuning, which gave the effect of the album sounding like one long song. Nevertheless, it had no problem attracting attention to a wide range of audiences. 7th Issue's catchy rock tune made his fans call it "Punk rock". Also, he obviously added Drum and Bass sound into his several songs, so that it proved him to be a favorable electronica musician (skills he learned from producing the "Seo Taiji & Boys" albums). J from Luna Sea also participated in the making of this album as the bassist. His song "Live Wire" was a good hit succeeding the vivacity of "Ultramania". "Robot" deals with his youth and anguish, while the song "F.M.Business" acrimoniously criticize the issues of and the commercialized music business and the artist exploitation from greedy corporate record labels. He also touches on the issue of abortion along with sexism and sexual assault with the song, "Victim". His record sale was reduced to a half million due to on-line downloading services, but was still the highest selling record of 2004 in South Korea. Taiji proved himself to be a musician in top popularity for more than a decade. After his activities up to 2005, he once again suddenly disappeared out of the spotlight.

[edit] 2008~2009: 8th AtomosHe returned to Korea after a long awaited absence, and revealed his latest single "Moai". It was the first release of Seo Taiji's ambitious 3-part "mystery project", which was followed by another single, "Bermuda Triangle" which was put up as a digital single. The third part, Atomos Part Secret, was released on March 10. He had a promotion called "Missing Taiji", where there were false rumors that Taiji went missing, only to return on the "Wormhole" concert day. In his single "Moai", Taiji reinvents his sound, and introduces a new experimental style he calls "nature pound". "Moai" draws inspiration from the mysterious statues of Easter Island which had long fascinated him since his childhood. He performed at the 2008 ETPFEST which he spearheaded to promote his comeback along side bands such as The Used, Dragon Ash, Death Cab for Cutie and Marilyn Manson.

He also put together "The Great Seotaiji Symphony" with Tolga Kashif and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to perform his old hits and new songs presented in an entirely new form, combining rock and classical music. The venue was such a huge success that an encore performance was given in December.

Taiji's second single - following Atomos Part Moai - called Atomos Part Secret was released on March 10, 2009. It is the same date as the arrival of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) to Mars in 2006. Taiji also held a concert promoting his second single on March 14 and 15. Tickets for the concert, cryptically titled Wormhole, sold out in just 20 minutes.

On April 3, the first two Seo Taiji and Boys Albums were rereleased. Taiji will rerelease all 7 of his albums, from Nan Arayo! to 7th Issue. On May 25, the 3rd and 4th Seo Taiji and Boys albums were rereleased.

As of June 13, he will hold a nationwide tour named "The Möbius". The first of the concerts will be held in Seoul, Korea. The tour has ended, but a repeat performance was given 2 months after the finish. ETPFEST 2009 was also held with guest groups such as NIN, Limp Bizkit, Keane, Fade, Boom Boom Satellites, Pia and GUMX.

Taiji released on December 24 -2009- a two-CD case with his Symphony, including the track 'F.M. Business' that wasn't broadcast on television.

[edit] Marriage To Lee Ji AhOn April 21, 2011 it was discovered that Taiji had been secretly married to actressLee Ji Ah for 9 years. The couple had managed to hide their marriage from the public. They had already divorced but Lee was suing Taiji for 500 million Won (approximately $462,000 USD) in alimony and 5 billion Won (approximately $4.6 million USD) of his assets. They were only discovered when reports began circulating of the couple’s second court appearance. It was also revealed that she had been using a pseudoname that was different from her real name and had lied about her age and that she was born in 1977 and had married in 1997 when she was 20.

Lee’s current boyfriend, actor Jung Woo Sung also released a statement saying he had not known of her marriage. [3][4]

[edit] Seo Taiji BandAlthough Taiji now works as a "solo" artist, the following musicians consistently play with him during tours, studio recordings, and music videos. Some of them belong to other bands, but they participated in recording and performances for a short period of time.:

Top (Ahn Seong-Hoon) - lead guitar for SeoTaiJi's 6th~8th album
Rock - rhythm guitar for SeoTaiJi's 6th~7th album
Sang Uk (Monkey) - bass for SeoTaiJi's 6th~7th album
Heff "The Machine" Holter - drums for SeoTaiJi's 6th~7th album
Kim Seok-Jung - Keyboards/Programming/Samples/FX/arrange for SeoTaiJi's 8th album
Kang Joon-Hyung - bass for SeoTaiJi's 8th album. He normally works with the band "A'ccel in a story".
Choi Hyun-Jin - drums for SeoTaiJi's 8th album. He normally works with the band "Vassline"
[edit] Discography[edit] Seotaiji and BoysSeotaiji and Boys(1992)
Seotaiji and Boys II(1993)
Seotaiji and Boys III(1994)
Seotaiji and Boys IV(1995)
[edit] Solo studio albumsSeotaiji 5th(1998)
Seotaiji 6th(2000)
Seotaiji 7th Issue(2004)
Seotaiji 8th Atomos(2009)
[edit] Live releases2009 Seotaiji Band Live Tour [The Möbius] (2010)
The Great Seotaiji Symphony (including the track 'FM Business') (2009)
Seotaiji Live Tour Zero '04 (2005)
6th Album Re-recording & ETPFEST Live (2003)
Seotaiji Band Live Album 2000/2001 태지의 話(Taiji Speaks) (2001)
Taiji Boys '95 다른 하늘이 열리고 (1995)
Seotaiji and Boys '93 마지막축제(Last Festival) (1994)
Taiji Boys Live & Techno Mix (1992)
[edit] Singles & Etcs8th Atomos Part Secret (2009)
8th Atomos Part Moai (2008)
[&] Seotaiji 15th Anniversary Album (2007): remastered all songs from 'Seo Tai-ji & Boys' albums, live albums, solo albums, and remix songs are included.
Feel The Soul Maxi Single (Released in Japan) (2001)
Seotaiji and Boys Goodbye Best Album (1996)
Sidae-Yoogam[시대유감-時代遺憾 Regret of the Times] (1996)
[edit] DVD releasesSeotaiji Live Tour: The Möbius (2011)
The GREAT 2008 Seotaiji Symphony with Tolga Kashif & Royal Phillharmonic DVD (2010)
2004 Seo Taiji Record of the 7th (2005)
The Shedding Bird: Seo Taiji Company DVD+Art book (2005)
Seo Taiji Live Tour ZERO 04 DVD+Art book (2004)
Seo Taiji Live Tour '2000-2001 The Taiji Speaks' DVD (2001)
[edit] Blu-ray releasesSeotaiji Live Tour: The Möbius (2011)
The GREAT 2008 Seotaiji Symphony with Tolga Kashif & Royal Phillharmonic DVD+Blu-ray (2010)