Kim Kwang-seok

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Kim Kwang-seok (Korean: [kimgwaŋsʰʌk]; January 22, 1964 – January 6, 1996) was a South Korean folk rock singer. He made his debut by joining the recording of a musical ‘Gaedongi’ (개똥이), which consisted of topical songs and was produced by a songwriter and activist Kim Min-ki in 1984. He also participated in the first publicly released album of "Noraerul Chanun Saramdul-Song Seekers," a group of activists and singers in 1987. He became known for his band “Dongmulwon – The Zoo” (동물원) in 1988. He jumped to fame with the first album of Dongmulwon, and then, he began his solo career. Most of his songs were celebrated for his appealing vocals and introspective lyrics, which were broadly loved by young generations of South Korea in 1990s. He released 6 studio albums and 5 compilation albums, and had many hit songs such as “On the street” (거리에서), “Love has gone” (사랑했지만), “A letter from a private” (이등병의 편지) and “Song of my life” (나의 노래). He committed suicide by hanging on January 6, 1996.

Sib Pal Gi Association

The Sib Pal Gi Association (십팔기협회 Dae Han Sibpalki Hyeop Hwe; also The Korea Sibpalki Association) is a Korean martial arts association established in 1981 under the leadership of Kim Kwang-Seok (Kim Gwang-suk 김광석; 金光錫, b. 1936, style name Haebeom). Sib Pal Ki (literally "eighteen skills") is a Korean term for "martial arts", either Chinese martial arts or Korean martial arts (as opposed to the Japanese martial arts introduced during the Japanese rule in Korea).

Kim Kwang-Seok had opened a martial arts school in 1969, having studied martial arts during the late 1950s to middle 1960s under Choi sang-chul, Korean Kungfu master. In 1986 Korean folklorist Sim U-seong worked together with Kim Kwang-Seok to compare his style with the historical Muyedobotongji or "Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts" of 1790. In the same year, the first public performance of Sib Pal Gi took place at the Batanggol Small Theater in Seoul.

In 2001, students of Kim Kwang Seok founded the Sib Pal Gi Preservation Society (십팔기 보존회), dedicated to staging public performances and disseminating public awareness of Korean martial arts in the South Korean public.