Shim Su-bong told grand-nephew Son Tae-jin he must 'go through hardship too'

Veteran singer Shim Su-bong, 71, drew public backlash after publicly criticizing 17-year-old trot music singer Kim Da-hyun for seemingly not knowing "what life is." She had also delivered blunt words to her grand-nephew, singer Son Tae-jin, telling him he too must "go through hardship."

Shim appears to hold a firm belief that a singer must experience the full range of human emotions — joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure — before being able to perform well.

According to entertainment industry sources Tuesday, Shim appeared on the chuseok special of KBS 2TV's "Stars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant," which aired Thursday. In the episode, Son visited Shim's home and opened up about the difficulties he faces writing lyrics.

"Popular music becomes a source of comfort because people experience the same pain and empathize with it," Shim said. When Son asked what kind of experiences were needed to write good lyrics, Shim advised: "You have to go through every hardship. We went through so much hardship ourselves, and that's how we learned."

When Son replied that he would "try harder," Shim laughed and shot back: "It's not something that comes from trying."

The remarks came days after Shim made similar comments at the 10th Jinan Highland Trot Music Festival in Jinan-gun, North Jeolla Province, on Sunday, this time directed at Kim Da-hyun, who had performed just before her.

Kim, who is 17, had performed upbeat songs including "Praise Whale" and "I'm the Lotto," complete with choreography.

Taking the stage after Kim, Shim said the young singer appeared to be someone who did not know "what singing is, what life is," and asked organizers not to "put that performer on before me."

"Singing is not something you do carelessly," Shim added. "You need life experience, you need to have struggled — music that comforts the audience is not that easy."

After word spread that Kim had broken down in tears upon seeing the video, criticism mounted against Shim, who issued an apology Monday saying she had "misspoken."

"I have always had worries and concerns about popular music, and it is also true that I was under great stress from the noise at the venue that day," Shim said in the statement. "But the fact that I let slip words that went beyond common sense at an inappropriate moment — at a trot music festival where everyone should be laughing and having fun — I have no excuse, no matter how many mouths I had."

Kim confirmed on social media that she had spoken directly with Shim by phone, saying Shim had personally apologized and offered warm words of encouragement.