 |
| ▲This photo, provided by YPC Universal Music, shows Cho Yong-pil. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) |
 |
| ▲This photo shows beginning a safari tour of Serengeti. (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Yonhap) -- "I want to be a leopard, not a hyena... I want to be a leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro covered with snow" (Leopard of Mt.Kilimanjaro·1985)
"This huge world like Serengeti/ throw dream away yeah~ / run into that place" (Like Serengeti · 2022)
Cho Yong-pil's relationship with Tanzania along with his hit song "Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro," which he released 37 years ago, are again in the spotlight after he released new song "Like Serengeti" for the first time in nine years.
That is because Mt. Kilimanjaro and Serengeti are both main attractions of Tanzania.
According to music industry on Monday, Cho Yong-pil made a connection with Tanzania when track song of his 8th album, "Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro" released in 1985 made a hit. 13 years after the song came out to the world, president of Tanzania at the time, Benjamin Mkapa visited Korea in 1998 and presented Cho an appreciation plaque for "introducing their famous mountain."
Comparing human's loneliness and aspiration to a leopard climbing up a snow mountain, "Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro" had included long narration which was rare at the time, and due to its long running time of 5 min 23 secs, the story that even the singer himself had trouble memorizing the lyrics is widely known.
However, due to its shocking composition and deep lyrics, it became one of public's favorite songs, and even though 30 years have already passed since its release, the song is considered as one of Cho's hit songs.
Tanzanian government also invited Cho to their country in 1998. Riding on SUV, Cho visited Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as Ngorongoro and Serengeti national park.
Endless Serengeti plain and its portentousness at the time left a deep impression on Cho.
Right after his visit to Tanzania, in October 1999, he held a concert at Seoul Arts Center Opera House as the first singer to perform there, and during the press conference,he mentioned that "I wanted to make a song about Serengeti in which I was so touched when I visited Tanzania."
Since then, it is said that he frequently his memory of Tanzania, such as the grand view of Serengeti at private gatherings, saying, "I really want to visit there at least once."
Cho, in addition, received order of Culture Merit from Tanzania as the first foreigner in 2001.
The scenery of Serengeti, which made a deep impression on Cho's mind, was reborn as pop rock genre "Like Serengeti" after 23 years in the late fall of 2022. If hopes were depicted with loneliness in "Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro," "Serengeti" magnificently delivers the message to not give up on dreams like a full-shot documentary.
Cho's agency YPC said, "When Cho first heard the demo version of 'Like Serengeti,' he was reminded of vast plain and sky of Serengeti in which he visited 20 years ago."
While 'The Leopard of Kilimanjaro' and 'Like the Serengeti' were set in different places and in different times, Cho hit fans in the gut with his strong vocal and musical challenge.
The phrase he wrote in "Leopard of Mt. Kilimanjaro" in 1985 "The reason I live in this world is because 21st century desperately wanted me" became reality, whether he expected it or not.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Jiwon Woo.)
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
