In the 1980s and 1990s, the musicians of Dong-A Productions continued to meet the public through performances, presenting fresh music that spanned genres from rock and blues to ballads and fusion jazz. They clearly emerged at the tail end of an era dominated by pop, bringing to audiences a sense of Korea’s contemporary sensibility. They were not merely singers who performed songs, but active creators who wrote, sang, and played their own music—and the public responded with resounding enthusiasm. This was made possible thanks to the agency that gathered such musicians together, providing a creative ground and enabling bold new experiments. Underneath it all, there was “us”—those who waited for the album release date to buy Dong-A Productions’ albums, those who listened on cassette tapes until the tape stretched thin, and those who went to the concerts to cheer with raised voices. Thus, the history of Dong-A Productions is not only the history of Korean popular music, but also one of the histories of “us.”

Presenter: Sojin Lee (Kyung Hee University)
Discussants: Yongjin Won (Sogang University), Sanggil Lee (Yonsei University)
Moderator: Jiyoung Suh (Center for Hallyu Studies, SNUAC)