‘K-Pop Originates from Mokpo’ Brand Content Exploration Forum

Inan-young & Kim Sisters Exhibition Hall, Highlighting Popular Music History Linked to Kim Sisters

A forum will be held to explore brand content called ‘K-Pop Original Mokpo’ and to seek a new global direction for Mokpo's music history.

The ‘Inan-young & Kim Sisters Exhibition Hall’ will host a forum titled ‘K-Pop Original (K-Pop hometown) is Mokpo’ at 4 p.m. on the 22nd at the Painter's House located in Mokpo's old downtown.

In March, the Neon Museum in the United States introduced information about the Kim Sisters.
[Photo by Jeong Taegwan, Exhibition Director]

Mokpo is interpreted as aiming to highlight the significant meaning in the history of popular music connected with Inan-young, her older brother Lee Bong-ryong, Nam Jin, Choi Yuna, and the Kim Sisters.

According to Director Jeong Tae-gwan on the 21st, the Kim Sisters (Inan-young's daughters) are recognized as The Original K-Pop Stars by the Neon Museum in the U.S. and the University of Nevada, among others.

The background is that the Kim Sisters were formed by Inan-young from Yangdong, Mokpo, with sisters Kim Sook-ja (born 1939), Kim Ae-ja (1940?1987), and their niece Kim Min-ja (born 1941, daughter of Inan-young's brother Lee Bong-ryong). They debuted as a girl group on the U.S. 8th Army stage in 1953 and later became the first Asian girl group to enter the U.S. market in 1959.

The Kim Sisters appeared 22 times on the ‘CBS Popular TV Show’ and the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1960s. They also appeared on NBC’s ‘Dean Martin Show’ and were featured in prominent media such as the magazine ‘Life’.

In 1964, they signed a contract with Bernard Shawdan and toured throughout Europe, including the U.S., Rome, Paris, and London, performing as U.S. star-level artists.

Kim Sook-ja of the Kim Sisters and the Kim Brothers (Inan-young's sons) currently reside in Las Vegas, U.S.

When singer Inan-young was interred in a tree burial at Samhakdo, Mokpo in 2003, Kim Sook-ja and the Kim Brothers visited Korea and held an ‘Inan-young Memorial Performance’ at the Citizen Culture and Sports Center Grand Theater.

In 2016, the ‘Kim Sisters Kim Sook-ja Talk Concert’ was held at the Mokpo Culture and Arts Center, and in 2022, they performed at the Mokpo Music Play invitation concert, maintaining a continuous relationship with deep affection for their mother's hometown.

The Inan-young & Kim Sisters Exhibition Hall, opened in 2020, is the only one of its kind worldwide, housing and exhibiting a total of 104 items donated by Kim Sook-ja to Jeong Tae-gwan (Painter's House), including musical instruments, stage costumes, and daily necessities.

Director Jeong Tae-gwan established the exhibition hall at his own expense and is developing and branding content related to the Kim Sisters.

Director Jeong said, “Inan-young from Yangdong, Mokpo formed her daughters into K-Pop Stars. Therefore, Mokpo can be called the K-Pop hometown,” adding, “Mokpo is very important in the history of popular music connected with Inan-young, her older brother Lee Bong-ryong, Nam Jin, Choi Yuna, and the Kim Sisters.”

He continued, “It is time for Mokpo to seek a new global direction in music history,” and “To explore brand content as the ‘K-Pop Original,’ Mokpo has decided to hold the following forum.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.