| Insooni | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 인순이 |
| Revised Romanization | In Su-ni |
| McCune–Reischauer | In Suni |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 김인순 |
| Hanja | 金仁順[1] |
| Revised Romanization | Kim In-sun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim In-sun |
Insooni (Hangul: 인순이; born Kim In-Soon (김인순) on April 5, 1957) is a famous female South Korean singer. Insooni made her debut in 1978 in a group "Hee sisters (희자매)". Since then she has recorded a total of 19 albums (14 regular). She is now South Korea's acclaimed R&B diva with a wide range of fans, even though nearly 30 years have passed since her debut. She is one of the few singers who performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and earned several top prizes at broadcasters' annual award ceremonies. She is distinguished by her rich, throaty voice on stage. She was born to a Korean mother and an African American father, who served in the US military in South Korea, and was brought up by her mother alone, with the assistance of Pearl S. Buck International's child sponsorship program. She is now regarded as one of the best female singers in South Korea.
She has one daughter, who goes by "Jasmine Park," born 1994, and currently attends Seoul International School as a high honor student.
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She was parented by an African-American father and a Korean mother in 1957 in Pocheon city, a part of Gyeongi Province - and her upbringing was fraught with difficulties from discrimination against visible miniorities which was serious during this time in Korea. In-Soon has commented that "while attending school I felt like I was dirty compared to my classmates."(1) In-Soon graduated from Cheongsan Middle School of Yeoncheon, Gyeongi Province, and having had enough of the difficulties didn't continue her education through high school. She has said that overcoming the difficulties came by singing. (1)
In 1978 In-Soon made her debut with the girl group "Hee sisters" but Korean public opinion doubted that a girl group could be successful in Korea. (1) The Hee sister's time allowed In-Soon to show off her skills such as eloquent dance but the interest she attracted was merely that of outward appearance. In 1980 (Fate), In-Soon's solo release debuted. 1983, with the age of disco setting in, (If it's night, every night) saw her release a hit that rose and remained at number 7 on KBS charts through 1984, she rose immensely in popularity.