[REVIEW] Concert in memory of Moonlight Fairy Lee Jin-won

Commemorative concert for the late indie folk rocker Lee Jin-won, also known as Moonlight Fairy Reversal Grand Slam, held in Seoul, South Korea on January 27, 2011. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

“The whole place turned into true Hongdae district, a gift from Jin-won," said Lee Seung-hye (keyboard) who had performed with late-singer and composer Lee Jin-won for six years. Lee, otherwise known by his stage name Moonlight Fairy Reversal Grand Slam who has been performing as a one-man band, abruptly passed away from a brain hemorrhage on November 16, 2010. A concert which his fellow musicians had originally launched to raise donations for his recovery, turned into a concert commemorating him. The Hongdae street, which Lee himself used to define as a place rumbling with desire and lust, turned into something completely different -- a night purely about music -- at least on the night of January 27 when the concert “Lucky Guy” was held in memory of him. When it was told that Lee received 'acorns' -- cyber money in the world of social networking website Cyworld -- as payment for his past music compositions, the meaning of his death went beyond just losing a friend and some 100 music teams and 26 live clubs eagerly took part in the concert free of charge.

If “Lucky Guy” was a music piece that Lee the Moonlight Fairy had dedicated to another 'unlucky' late-composer Kim Kwang-suk, the concert “I Am A Lucky Guy” was the gift that all of Lee’s fellow musicians dedicated to Lee. All 5,000 tickets sold out within an hour since the concert began and the concert hall was packed with people both inside and out, those who were begging the staff to let them in despite not having gotten a ticket and those with tickets but still unable to get in because of the crowd lined-up. With over 5,000 people remembering him and coming to listening to him for one last time, Moonlight Fairy was no longer living a crippled, 'sukidashi (side-menu/ appetizer) life' as he described. He was instead 'sashimi,' (raw meat/ main delicacy), a luck guy.

“Glad to meet you all. This is Moonlight Fairy Reversal Grand Slam!!!" Lee’s voice boomed out at the final stage of the concert at Sangsang Madang Live Hall, arranged through video concert titled "Moonlight Fairy Reversal Grand Slam” and joined by his old band members. Of course, Lee was nowhere to be seen and instead on the center of the stage was a screen that showed his past performances. When Lee in the screen gave his wide smile and sang to “Sukidashi, My Life” the crowd sang the song together so loud that it was almost impossible to hear Lee’s voice in it. Lee Seung-hye who played the keyboard ended up turning around to wipe his tears, unable to contain his feelings. For those who were not able to go to the concert because of a lack of tickets and those who went to the concert but wished to relieve the memory as long as possible, 10Asia re-posts the memory of those amazing five-hours in the articles that follow below.

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Reporter : Lee Ga-on
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@
Editor : Heidi Kim heidikim@