'Original diva' Yang Su-kyung returns after 34 years: 'The word that defines me is singer'

"I once thought about how free I would be if I could just live without singing. But in the end, what I wanted to do again was sing."

Yang Su-kyung, 61, beloved as the original hallyu diva who defined Korean popular music in the 1980s and 1990s, has broken a long silence to stage her comeback — launching a nationwide concert tour for the first time in 34 years and reaffirming her identity as a singer.

Yang, who said she wore a miniskirt for the first time since her debut, met with reporters Wednesday with her signature clear, gentle voice intact. "The word that ultimately defines me is singer," she said, looking back on her extended absence.

"Back then, I was a very arrogant singer."

Yang is the artist behind hit songs including "Love Is Like Rain Outside the Window" and "Love Is a Cold Temptation," whose powerful vocals and crystalline tone helped usher in a golden era for female singers in Korea.

Her career is a glittering one. After debuting in 1988 with her first album "Leaving Heart," she produced a string of era-defining hits over the following years and swept the top-10 singer awards at both KBS and MBC. In 1990 she sang the theme for a Japanese drama series, earning a record award, and went on to win the NHK TV Asia Top Five Stars Award in 1992 and the ABU International Song Festival Most Popular Singer Award the same year.

"At the time, just shuttling between Korea and Japan for broadcasts was overwhelming, and I performed because someone told me to," she said. "Now, for several years, I have been the one asking to become a performing singer."

Her return begins on stage. Starting at Cube Convention Center in Seoul in October, she will hold a solo concert titled "Yeon-in." It will be her first solo concert since 1992 — a gap of 34 years — and her first full-scale stage appearance in about four years since a year-end dinner show in 2022.

"A singer isn't really a singer just by existing alone — you have to perform," she said. "I am truly happy to be preparing for a concert right now. That makes this opportunity all the more precious."

A long road led back to the stage. Yang married the head of an entertainment agency in 1998 and released her ninth studio album, "Huae," the following year before stepping away for an extended hiatus. Grief followed grief — she lost her father, her younger sister and her husband in succession. She spent years raising her own son and her sister's children alone, enduring a difficult stretch before returning to the public eye in 2016.

During the most recent four-year absence, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Steroids prescribed for treatment caused her body to swell, and her motivation to perform all but disappeared.

"At first I just slept, and I didn't even want to go outside. There were times I thought it would be better if people just forgot about me," she recalled. "I wanted to sing, but I didn't want to go out."

What ultimately lifted her back up was a longing for music and a commitment she made to herself. "When I thought about wanting to perform, I realized I couldn't stay the way I was," she said. "Every morning I looked in the mirror first thing and exercised hard. I cooked my own meals, watched my diet and threw myself into singing." Her physical condition has recovered to about 70 to 80 percent, she said, while her motivation is at 100 percent.

"Once I got healthier, I thought again: 'I'm not nobody. I have my music, and I am singer Yang Su-kyung.' I think I just wanted to hide for a while. But I'm still young for that, and I have a dream no one can take from me — so from now on, no matter what obstacles I face, I will never run away. Every single day is too precious for that."

"My life has had quite a spectacular number of twists and turns. That's exactly why I didn't want to sing it."

The comeback arrives with an unfinished new song. It is a track she could barely bring herself to sing because it kept calling up memories of the road she has traveled. She had originally planned to unveil the song at Wednesday's press conference, but her desire for musical perfection grew and she pushed the release to her October concert.

One of the new songs set for release is "Never Love Again." Even choosing it was not straightforward. "So many of my songs are about heartbreak and pain that for years I wanted to sing something bright and hopeful," Yang said with a laugh. "If there were a world championship for life's ups and downs, I could probably take first place. And because people say a singer's life follows their lyrics, the title 'Never Love Again' caught me off guard at first and I almost didn't sing it."

In the end she chose the song that fit her best. "When I actually read the lyrics, they were more about 'I can't live without you' and 'I want to love' — that kind of feeling," she said. "People around me also told me that Yang Su-kyung's voice suits songs of farewell. I decided to accept that as a gift. Trying new things is fine, but I think I can work more comfortably if I embrace 'Yang Su-kyung singing about love and parting.'"

Recording sessions for the new material ran from noon until 1 a.m. as she pushed for the best possible result. "I tell myself not to be greedy about everything in life, but strangely, that greed never leaves me when it comes to singing," she said. "I felt like the song was a bit of a stretch for me. A younger colleague I work with told me to do what suits me, so I deleted all the recorded data and decided to start over."

The way people consume music has changed completely since her heyday. The album era has given way to streaming, but Yang retains a deep attachment to physical releases. After a long silence following her ninth studio album in 1999, she resumed activity with a mini-album in 2016 and has consistently put out new work since — a 30th-anniversary special album, "Masterpiece," in 2018; a single, "Love, Please," in 2020; and a new song, "Golden Lawn of Old," in 2025. Her ultimate goal is to finally release the long-delayed tenth studio album.

"What could be more precious for a singer — someone whose job is to sing — than releasing an album?" she said. "I want to be a singer who invests in albums rather than buying luxury goods or jewelry. If the conditions allow, I will consistently be someone who prepares a tenth album, an eleventh, a twelfth."

Her music has also been finding new audiences among younger listeners in recent years. "The Meaning of You," a B-side from her second album released in 1990, was featured at a Gucci after-party in April and drew fresh attention. BTS and NewJeans have also covered her songs, keeping her name alive within their fandoms. "Even though it's my own song, it felt fresh," Yang said, expressing her gratitude.

She described the 1980s and 1990s, when she was at her peak, as "a renaissance for Korean popular music," adding: "It wasn't that I was particularly more talented than other singers — I was fortunate to come of age in a great era, and luck played a big part."

"When I see younger artists like BLACKPINK and G-DRAGON being loved around the world, I feel proud not just as a fellow singer but as a Korean citizen," she added. "When I was receiving awards in Japan, I never imagined the Korean music market would grow this large. I am grateful to everyone who laid the groundwork for the entertainment industry, and if someone still remembers me too, I am thankful for that."

The stage she is returning to is not a one-off event for Yang, nor simply a trip down memory lane. "I don't want to stop at evoking nostalgia," she said. "I want to share with the audience the feeling of a heart racing at the first notes of a song — those memories from when we were young." She drew particular inspiration from watching audiences erupt when the familiar opening of a song by legendary singer Cho Yong-pil filled a concert hall, a moment that helped her rediscover her identity as a performing artist.

"The arrangements and instruments change over time, but I want to create a performance that doesn't damage the memories held in the original songs," Yang said. "I am a very careless person with many flaws, but I wanted to fill those empty spaces by singing on stage."

"In the past I lived each day for others — trying to look good, trying to look cool. Now I spend each day entirely for myself. Before it's too late, I want to try the things I never got to try. I never imagined I would still be singing 'Love Is Like Rain Outside the Window' in my sixties. From now on, for as long as my health allows — however many years that may be — I want to tend to both my singing and my life so that I have no regrets."