Singer BMK steps away from spotlight to teach music at school for the blind

Singer BMK (52, real name Kim Hyun-jung) has been working as a music teacher at a school for the visually impaired.

According to JTBC, BMK has been teaching singing at the National Seoul School for the Blind for two years. She introduces herself as "Kim Hyun-jung, teacher at the National Seoul School for the Blind."

The school enrolls 61 visually impaired students, most of whom go on to obtain a massage therapist license upon graduation.

Most students lost their sight to illness or accident after living ordinary lives, and working as a massage therapist is often the only career path available to them because of their disability.

BMK said she first heard about the school from a visually impaired acquaintance and approached the school herself to propose starting a music class.

"Even after the singing ends, you have to follow the accompaniment in your heart until the very last note — that's when a song is truly complete," she said. "When students listen to music, each one imagines their own landscape. The sense of ease and comfort that music brings is something everyone needs." She also encouraged her students, saying, "Accepting yourself as you are, and daring to dream — those things matter. If you dream and believe in it, I think anyone has the potential to achieve it."

Her classes are already changing her students. One student, when asked to describe the world in a color, answered "gray" — but said that when listening to music, it becomes "pink. My heart feels calm and beautiful." That same student said she now wants to do more than become a massage therapist. "It doesn't have to be massage therapy. I just want to try all kinds of things," she said, speaking of dreams that have grown more varied.

BMK debuted in 2003 with her first album "No More Music" and built a strong following for her powerful vocals.