Insooni

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Insooni (인순이)
Insooni at the Expo 2012 in Yeosu
Background information
Birth name	Kim In-soon (김인순)
Born	(1957-04-05) April 5, 1957 (age 64)
Genres	R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1978 (1978)–present
Labels	Sosob Blue Sky Sony Music Entertainment MAPPS Entertainment

Kim In-soon (Korean: 김인순; born April 5, 1957), better known by her stage name, Insooni (Korean: 인순이), is a South Korean Amerasian singer who made her debut in 1978 as a member of Hee Sisters (Korean: 희자매). Since then, she has recorded a total of 19 albums, 14 of them full-length albums. She is acclaimed as South Korea's R&B diva, having garnered a wide range of fans over her 41+ year career. She is one of the few South Korean singers to have performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and has earned several top prizes from South Korean music awards. She is distinguished by her rich, throaty voice with wide vocal range on stage. She was born to a South Korean mother and an African American father, who served in the U.S. military in South Korea and was brought up by her mother alone, with the assistance of Pearl S. Buck International's child sponsorship program.

Early life and education[]

Insooni was born to a South Korean mother and a Black American father in April 1957 in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province and her upbringing was fraught with difficulties from discrimination against minorities, which was severe during this time in South Korea. Insooni 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, Gyeonggi Province and having had enough of the difficulties did not continue her education through high school. She has said that overcoming the difficulties came by singing.^[1]

Career[]

In 1978, Insooni made her debut with the girl group Hee Sisters but South Korean public opinion doubted that a girl group could be successful in South Korea.^[1] The Hee sisters' time allowed Insooni to show off her skills such as eloquent dance but the interest she attracted was merely that of outward appearance. In 1980, Fate (인연), Insooni's solo release debuted. 1983, with the age of disco setting in, If it's night, every night (밤이면 밤마다), saw her release a hit that rose and remained at number 7 on KBS charts through 1984, she rose immensely in popularity.

She has also released a live album of Contemporary Christian Music,^[2] which was launched on August 11, 2006. It included Korean versions of the classic Christian songs Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art (주 하나님 지으신 모든 세계), and other songs like Jesus (찬양해) and Through Christ.^[3]

In 2007, she got special attention for her performance of the song "A Goose's Dream".^[4]

Personal life[]

Insooni has one daughter, Saein Park, also known as Jasmine, born 1994, who attended Seoul International School as a high honor student and graduated from Stanford University.

Insooni is a Catholic. Her baptismal name is Cecilia.^[5]

See also[]

All of the following were also born to a South Korean mother and African-American father:

• Hines Ward, American football player.
• Yoon Mi-rae, Korean rapper.
• Michelle Lee, Korean singer.
• Mia Yim, professional wrestler.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Insooni.

• Official website
• Yonhap News: Mixed-race Korean singer inspired by U.S. football star Hines Ward